The  Political  Philosophy 

of  ROBERT  M.  LA  FOLLETTE 


"The  Will  of  The  People  Shall  Be  The  Law 
of  7 he  Land,"— ROBERT  M.  LAFOUETTK. 


EX: 

1LEBIUIS 


SCHARRENBf 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 


Paul  Scharrenberg 


y 


ROBERT  M.  LA  FOI.LETTE 


The  Political  Philosophy 

OF 
ROBERT  M.  LA  FOLLETTE 

~TT 

As  REVEALED  IN  HIS  SPEECHES  AND  WRITINGS. 

Compiled  by 

ELLEN  TORELLE 

Assisted  by  ALBERT  0.  BARTON  and  FRED  L.  HOLMES. 


In  the  Valley  of  Decision, 

Down  the  Road  of  Thing s-that-are, 

You  gave  to  us  a  vision, 

You  appointed  us  a  star 

And  through  Cities  of  Derision 

We  followed  you  from  far. 

On  the  Hills  beyond  Tomorrow, 

On  the  Road  of  Things-to-do, 

With  that  strength  of  hand  we  borrow 

As  we  borrow  soul  from  you, 

We  know  not  sloth  nor  sorrow 

And  will  build  your  vision  true. 

WILLIAM  ELLERY  LEONARD. 


MADISON,  wis. 
THE   ROBERT  M.  LA  FOLLETTE   CO. 


Copyright,   1920,  by 

ROBERT  M.  LA  FOLLETTE  Co. 

JULY,  1920 

iOAN  STACK 


BLIED    PRINTING    COMPANY,    MADISON.    Wis. 


GIFT 


t£6<7 

LJ  .'-  i"~~  O 


The  Inspiration  of  a  Life 

There  is  looming  up  a  new  and  dark  power.  I  cannot 
dwell  upon  the  signs  and  shocking  omens  of  its  advent. 
The  accumulation  of  individual  wealth  seems  to  be  greater 
than  it  ever  has  been  since  the  downfall  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  The  enterprises  of  the  country  are  aggregating 
vast  corporate  combinations  of  unexampled  capital,  boldly 
marching,  not  for  economic  conquests  only,  but  for  politi 
cal  power.  £or  the  first  time  really  in  our  politics  money 
is  taking  the  field  as  an  organized  power.  *  *  *  Already, 
here  at  home,  one  great  corporation  has  trifled  with  the 
sovereign  power,  and  insulted  the  state.  There  is  grave 
fear  that  it,  and  its  great  rival,  have  confederated  to  make 
partition  of  the  state  and  share  it  as  spoils.  *  *  *  The 
question  will  arise,  and  arise  in  your  day,  though  perhaps 
not  fully  in  mine,  "Which  shall  rule — wealth  or  man; 
which  shall  lead — money  or  intellect;  who  shall  fill  public 
stations — educated  and  patriotic  free  men,  or  the  feudal 
serfs  of  corporate  capital?" 

Chief  Justice  Edward  G.  Ryan,  Speech  to 
Graduating  Class,  Wisconsin  Law  School,  1873. 


560 


CONTENTS 


I.  REPRESENTATIVE    GOVERNMENT 13 

II.  PRIMARY  ELECTIONS 27, 

III.  POLITICAL  MACHINE  AND  THE  BOSSES.   53, 

IV.  TAXATION     61 

V.  RAILROAD    REGULATION    AND    GOVERN 
MENT  OWNERSHIP   72 

VI.  TRUSTS  AND  MONOPOLIES 104 

VII.  LABOR  AND  ITS  RIGHTS 129 

VIII.  BIG  BUSINESS  AND  GOVERNMENT 148 

IX.  THE    TARIFF   160 

X.  MONEY  AND  BANKING 166 

XL  INITIATIVE,  REFERENDUM  AND  RECALL.  173 

XII.  FEDERAL  JUDGES  AND  INJUNCTIONS.  ..  179 

XIII.  THE  PROGRESSIVE  MOVEMENT 182 

XIV.  MILITARISM    190 

XV.  WAR    200 

XVI.  DRAFT  AND  CONSCRIPTION 215 

XVII.  WAR  TAXES  AND  PROFITEERING 220 

XVIII.  FREEDOM  OF  SPEECH  AND  PRESS 231 

XIX.  THE  PEACE  TREATY  AND  THE  LEAGUE 

OF  NATIONS   251 

XX.  INTERNATIONAL    RELATIONS 270 

XXI.  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER 275 


8  Contents 

XXII.  AGRICULTURE  AND  CO-OPERATION 280 

XXIII.  EDUCATION  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICE 289 

XXIV.  ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS  314 

XXV.  CONSERVATION   325 

XXVI.     EQUAL  SUFFRAGE   338 

XXVII.     THE  PRESS  AND  THE  PUBLIC 745 

XXVIII.     MISCELLANEOUS     3^0 

APPENDIX    380 

INDEX   .  .421 


FOREWORD 

HE  moral  issues  before  the  people  of 
this  country  at  the  present  time  are 
more  momentous  than  at  any  other 
period  since  the  foundation  of  the  gov 
ernment. 

The  Civil  War  solved  the  problem  of  secession 
and  resulted  in  the  emancipation  of  three  million 
slaves.  Today,  violations  of  the  Constitution  are 
more  flagrant  and  more  dangerous  to  our  institu 
tions  than  was  the  attempt  at  secession,  and  the 
liberty  of  a  hundred  million  people,  white  as  well 
as  black,  is  in  jeopardy.  The  assurance  that  a 
higher  and  nobler  democracy  would  be  a  result  of 
the  Great  War  has  been  found  to  be  a  mockery,  the 
reverse  of  democracy  being  realized  in  a  reign  of 
terror  and  oppression.  Public  disillusionment  has 
been  followed  by  doubt  and  indecision,  and  men  and 
women  are  reaching  out  for  the  guidance  of  a  po 
litical  philosophy  which  is  founded  on  principles  of 
truth  and  justice  and  competent  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  times. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  indicate  where 
such  a  philosophy  may  be  found  and  to  present  it 
iti  epitome.  To  the  many  busy  men  and  women  who 
cannot  spare  the  time  to  read  the  entire  articles  or 
addresses,  it  will  prove  a  valuable  compendium. 
For  the  student  or  social  worker  it  may  serve  as  an 
inspiration  to  a  more  extended  study  of  the  subject. 
The  citizen  who  wishes  to  understand  the  progres 
sive  movement  in  order  that  he  may  use  his  suf- 


io  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

frage  more  intelligently  will  find  much  to  ponder 
over  in  these  pages.  To  those  who  are  familiar 
with  the  clear,  simple,  and  forceful  style  of  the 
author,  nothing  needs  to  be  said  in  commendation 
or  amplification.  For  those  to  whom  this  book  may 
be  an  introduction  we  predict  great  interest  and 
pleasure  in  further  acquaintance  with  the  man  and 
his  work. 

Robert  M.  La  Follette  has  led  the  progressive 
movement  in  this  country  during  the  last  thirty 
years.  Its  development  may  be  said  to  be  co-inci- 
dentwith  his  public  career.  He  was  the  first  to 
secure  progressive  legislation,  and  the  political 
structure  which  was  reared  in  Wisconsin  as  a  re 
sult  of  his  self-sacrifice  and  devotion,  was  so  well 
founded  on  sound  economic  principles  that  it  has 
withstood  the  attacks  of  its  enemies,  the  support 
ers  of  corrupt  machine  and  corporation  rule. 

La  Follette's  position  as  the  pioneer  of  the  pro 
gressive  movement  was  secure  long  before  1912, 
but  in  that  year  his  leadership  was  strikingly  ac 
knowledged  by  Bryan,  Wilson,  and  even  by  Roose 
velt,  prior  to  the  latter's  candidacy  for  a  third  pres 
idential  term. 

To  Bryan,  La  Follette  was  the  "prince  of  pro 
gressives /J  Roosevelt  wrote  of  La  Follette's  five 
-years  as  governor : 

"Thanks  to  the  movement  for  genuinely  demo 
cratic  government  which  Senator  La  Follette  led  to 
overwhelming  victory  in  Wisconsin,  that  state  has 
become  literally  a  laboratory  for  wise  experimental 
legislation,  aiming  to  secure  the  social  and  political 
betterment  of  the  people  as  a  whole." 


Foreword 

It  remained  for  Woodrow  Wilson  to  pay  the 
most  fulsome  tribute  to  La  Follette,  in  a  speech  at 
Wilmington,  Del.,  in  October,  1912: 

"Now  there  arose  in  Wisconsin  that  indomitable 
little  figure  of  Bob  La  Follette.  I  tell  you  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  I  take  off  my  cap  to  Bob  La  Follette. 
He  has  never  taken  his  eye  for  a  single  moment 
from  the  goal  he  set  out  to  reach.  He  has  walked 
a  straight  line  to  it  in  spite  of  every  temptation  to 
turn  aside.  *  *  I  have  sometimes  thought  of  Sen 
ator  La  Follette  climbing  the  mountain  of  privilege 
*  *  taunted,  laughed  at,  called  back,  going  stead 
fastly  on  and  not  allowing  himself  to  be  deflected 
for  a  single  moment,  for  fear  he  also  should  hearken 
and  lose  all  his  power  to  serve  the  great  interests 
to  which  he  had  devoted  himself.  I  love  these 
lonely  figures  climbing  this  ugly  mountain  of  priv 
ilege.  But  they  are  not  so  lonely  now.  I  am  sorry 
for  my  own  part  that  I  did  not  come  in  when  they 
were  fewer.  There  was  no  credit  to  come  in  when 
I  came  in.  The  whole  nation  had  awakened." 


Since  1912  Senator  La  Follette  has  seen  the  pro 
gressive  principles  he  sponsored  swept  aside  in  the 
unchecked  growth  of  monopoly.  He  has  seen  mo 
nopoly  control  of  industry  and  government  bring 
increased  living  costs  and  encroachments  on  indi 
vidual  liberty :  the  evils  against  which  he  warned 
the  people.  The  war  gave  La  Follette's  foes  their 
opportunity  to  attempt  his  destruction,  but  the  logic  of 
his  principles  could  not  be  destroyed  and  today,  erect, 
unyielding,  La  Follette  stands  on  the  ground  the 
other  leaders  have  abandoned,  still  fighting  for  the 


12  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

old   principles,    with   the   confidence    of   the   people 
iii  his  progressive  leadership  unshaken. 

Throughout  this  book  the  reader  will  be  im 
pressed,  not  only  with  the  unusual  mental  power 
and  vision  of  the  man,  but  with  the  moral  elevation 
of  his  spirit.  He  views  problems  of  state  as  well 
as  problems  of  the  individual  in  the  clear,  white 
light  of  ethics,  and  no  compromise  with  expediency 
is  permitted  in  any  case.  It  is  this  which  gives  his 
work  high  and  permanent  value.  It  is  in  line  with 
social  evolution. 

The  excerpts  vary  in  length,  but  each  expresses 
concisely  a  principle  of  government,  a  political 
method  to  be  followed,  or  calls  attention  to  unjust 
or  harmful  conditions  which  need  to  be  remedied. 
For  convenience,  reference  is  made  to  the  article 
or  discourse  from  which  each  is  taken  so  that  the 
original  may  be  consulted  at  leisure. 

In  the  compilation  of  this  work  I  have  been  assisted 
by  Albert  O.  Barton,  a  former  secretary  of  Senator 
La  Follette,  and  Fred  L.  Holmes,  managing  editor  of 
La  Follette's  Magazine. 

The  work  of  compilation  and  classification  has 
been  a  pleasure  which  is  surrendered  with  regret 
since  additional  material  of  surpassing  interest  is 
continually  being  made  available. 

Ellen  Torellc. 

MADISON,  Wis., 
July  15,  1920. 


I. 

REPRESENTATIVE  GOVERNMENT 


Democracy  is  a  Life 

E  have  long  rested  comfortably  in  this 
country  upon  the  assumption  that  be 
cause  our  form  of  government  was 
democratic,  it  was  therefore  automat 
ically  producing  democratic  results. 
Now,  there  is  nothing  mysteriously  potent  about 
the  forms  and  names  of  democratic  institutions  that 
should  make  them  self-operative.  Tyranny  and  op 
pression  are  just  as  possible  under  democratic  forms 
as  under  any  other.  We  are  slow  to  realize  that 
democracy  is  a  life  and  involves  continual  struggle^ 
It  is  only  as  those  of  every  generation  who  love 
democracy  resist  with  all  their  might  the  encroach 
ments  of  its  enemies  that  the  ideals  of  representa 
tive  government  can  even  be  nearly  approximated. 
Introduction  to  Autobiography,  1913. 

Political  Parties 

Political  parties  are  not  organized  or  maintained 
upon  the  personality  or  strength  of  individuals,  but 
around  certain  deep-seated  ideas  which  lay  hold  of 
the  convictions  of  men.  These  ideas  when  formulated 
and  proclaimed  become  the  party's  declaration  of  prin 
ciples,  its  promise  to  perform.  This  declaration  of 
principles,  this  promise  to  perform,  is  of  the  highest 
importance  to  each  citizen.  When  so  proclaimed  it 
enables  him  to  determine  his  party  affiliation.  He 


14  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

well  understands  that  one  political  party  or  another 
will  control  government,  will  make  and  administer 
the  laws.  Hence,  he  gives  his  support  to  that  party 
which  promises  to  do  the  specific  things  that  he  re 
gards  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  state  and  to  the 
welfare  of  every  citizen.  The  party  promise,  there 
fore,  is  a  covenant  with  the  voter  upon  which  he  has 
staked  his  faith  and  his  interests.  He  has  given  his 
support ;  he  has  invested  the  party  with  his  authority ; 
he  has  made  it  possible  for  the  party  to  control  in 
government.  Upon  its..4raDmis£_aiad  his  support  the 
party  has  become  the  custodian  of  his  political  rights 
as  a  citizen,  of  his  property  right  as  a  man. 

But  the  party  obligation  goes  still  further.  The  ob 
ligation  of  the  party  is  made  the  more  binding  because 
it  has  sought  out  the  citizen,  urged  acceptance  of  its 
pledges,  pressed  them  upon  his  consideration,  pro 
claimed  again  and  again  its  purpose  to  keep  them  in 
letter  and  spirit.  It  has  made  the  citizen  its  solicitor 
and  secured  his  good  offices  to  repeat  its  promises, 
proclaim  its  principles,  and  enlist  in  its  ranks  his  neigh 
bors  and  friends.  Having  received  his  vote,  his  in 
fluence,  his  devotion,  the  party  is  bound  to  keep  its 
pledged  word.  This  is  its  title  to  confidence.  This 
measures  its  value -as  a  power  for  good  in  representa 
tive  government. 

Every  established  practice  and  custom  which  tends 
to  impair  in  any  degree  the  citizen's  right  of  suffrage 
subverts  the  principles  of  representative  government 
and  undermines  the  foundations  of  democracy. 

It  is  a  plain  proposition  that  the  right  of  suffrage  is 
much  broader  and  more  comprehensive  than  the  mere 


Representative  Government  15 

physical  act  of  casting  the  ballot  without  interference, 
and  having  it  returned,  as  cast,  without  fraud.  All 
of  the  guarantees  of  the  constitution,  all  of  the  acts  of 
legislation,  are  designed  to  secure  and  record  the  will 
of  the  citizen ;  to  make  it  certain  that,  untrammeled 
and  uninterrupted,  the  influence  of  his  judgment  may 
be  felt  in  matters  pertaining  to  government.  If  this 
be  the  real  substance  of  the  right  of  suffrage,  then  it 
becomes  an  equally  sacred  obligation  on  the  part  of 
the  lawmaking  power  to  so  safeguard  every  step  and 
proceeding  which  constitutes  any  element  of  the  right 
of  suffrage  that  the  citizen  shall  be  protected  with 
respect  to  it. 

Through  the  succession  of  generations  human  na 
ture  is  the  same,  and  \vhen  De  Tocqueville  declared 
that  "the  most  powerful,  and  perhaps  the  only,  means 
of  interesting  men  in  the  welfare  of  the  country  is  to 
make  them  partakers  in  the  government,"  he  uttered  a 
truth  which  applies  quite  as  forcibly  to  the  primary 
step  in  suffrage,  as  to  the  secondary  step  in  suffrage, — 
to  the  nomination  of  candidates  as  to  their  election 
after  nomination.  And  the  interest  and  influence  of 
the  voter  can  be  as  well  and  as  certainly  secured  in 
the  one  as  in  the  other,  if  the  same  means  are  taken 
to  guarantee  to  him  the  same  certainty  of  result  re 
specting  the  one  as  the  other. 

Message  to  Legislature,  1903. 

Right  to  Equal  Voice 

It  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  this  republic  that 
each  citizen  shall  have  equal  voice  in  government. 
This  is  recognized  and  guaranteed  to  him  through 
the  ballot.  In  a  representative  democracy,  where  a 


1 6  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

citizen  cannot  act  for  himself  for  any  reason,  he 
must  delegate  his  authority  to  the  public  official 
who  acts  for  him.  Since  government,  with  us,  is 
conducted  by  the  representatives  of  some  political 
party,  the  citizen's  voice  in  making  and  administer 
ing  the  laws  is  expressed  through  his  party  ballot. 
Hence,  to  preserve  his  sovereign  right  to  an  equal 
share  in  government  he  must  be  assured  an  equal 
voice  in  making  his  party  ballot.  This  privilege 
is  vital.  This  is  the  initial  point  of  all  administra 
tion.  It  is  here  government  begins,  and  if  there 
be  failure  here,  there  will  be  failure  throughout. 
Control  lost  at  this  point  is  never  regained ;  rights 
surrendered  here  are  never  restored.  As  the  foun 
dation  is  laid,  so  will  the  structure  be  reared.  The 
naming  of  the  men  upon  the  party  ticket  is  the 
naming  of  the  men  who  will  make  and  enforce  the 
laws.  It  not  only  settles  the  policy  of  the  party, 
it  determines  the  character  of  the  government. 

Inaugural  Message,  1901. 

I  do  not  believe  that  it  lies  in  the  power  of  any  one 
man  or  group  of  men  successfully  to  proclaim  the 
creation  of  a  new  political  party,  and  give  it  life, 
and  being,  and  achievement,  and  perpetuity.  New 
parties  are  brought  forth  from  time  to  time,  and 
groups  of  men  have  come  forward  as  their  heralds 
and  have  been  called  to  leadership  and  command. 
But  the  leaders  did  not  create  the  party.  It  was  the 
ripe  issue  of  events.  It  came  out  of  the  womb  of 
time,  and  no  man  could  hinder  or  hasten  the  event. 
No  one  can  foretell  the  coming  of  the  hour.  It 
may  be  near  at  hand.  It  may  be  otherwise.  But  if 


Representative  Government  17 

it  should  come  quickly,  we  may  be  sure  strong  lead 
ership  will  be  there;  and  some  will  say  that  the 
leaders  made  the  party.  But  all  great  movements 
in  society  and  government,  the  world  over,  are  the 
result  of  growth.  Progress  may  seem  to  halt;  we 
may  even  seem  to  lose  ground,  but  it  is  my  deep 
conviction  that  it  is  our  duty  to  do,  day  by  day, 
with  all  our  might,  as  best  we  can  for  the  good  of 
our  country  the  task  which  lies  nearest  at  hand. 
The  party  does  not  consist  of  a  fewr  leaders  or  of  a 
controlling  political  machine ;  it  consists  of  the  hun 
dreds  of  thousands  of  citizens  drawn  together  by  a 
common  belief  in  certain  principles. 

A  political  party  is  not  made  to  order.  It  is  the 
slow  development  of  powerful  forces  working  in 
our  social  life.  Sound  ideas  seize  upon  the  human 
mind.  Opinions  ripen  into  fixed  convictions. 
Masses  of  men  are  drawrn  together  by  common 
belief  and  organized  about  clearly  defined  princi 
ples.  From  time  to  time  this  organized  body  ex 
presses  its  purpose  and  names  candidates  to  rep 
resent  its  principles.  The  millions  cannot  be  assem 
bled,  Until  direct  nominations  and  the  rigid  control 
of  campaign  expenditures  shall  prevail  they  must 
seek  to  express  their  will  through  the  imperfect 
agencies  of  congressional,  state,  and  national  con 
ventions.  These  agencies  are  not  the  party.  They 
are  temporarily  delegated  to  represent  the  millions 
who  constitute  the  party.  If  recreant  to  their  trust 
the  party  may  suffer  the  temporary  defeat  of  its 
purposes. 

Autobiography,  1913. 


1 8  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Platform  Pledges 

Mr.  President,  a  platform  promise  is  a  covenant 
with  the  voter,  upon  which  he  stakes  his  faith  and 
his  interests.  He  gives  the  party  his  support;  he 
invests  it  with  his  authority ;  he  makes  it  possible 
for  the  party  to  control  in  government.  The  obli 
gation  of  the  party  is  made  the  more  binding  be 
cause  it  seeks  out  the  citizen,  urges  acceptance  of 
its  pledges,  presses  them  upon  his  consideration, 
proclaims  again  and  again  its  purpose  to  keep  them 
in  letter  and  spirit.  The  party  makes  the  citizen  its 
solicitor,  secures  his  good  offices  to  repeat  its  prom 
ises,  proclaim  its  principles,  and  enlist  in  its  ranks 
his  neighbors  and  friends.  Having  secured  his  sup 
port,  his  influence,  his  vote,  the  party  is  in  honor 
bound  to  keep  its  pledged  word. 

When  the  citizen,  relying  upon  the  pledges  made 
in  the  platform  of  the  party,  aids  to  place  a  repre 
sentative  in  the  public  service  to  the  end  that  he 
may  fulfill  and  perform  in  letter  and  spirit  the  prom 
ises  for  legislation  and  administration  promised  in 
the  platform,  the  official  is  solemnly  bound  to  the 
execution  of  his  sacred  trust.  He  cannot  play  fast 
and  loose  with  party  promises  and  preserve  a  sem 
blance  of  official  or  individual  integrity. 

Any  legislation  which  does  not  proceed  upon  the 
basis  that  it  is  a  wise,  just,  and  safe  exercise  of  legis 
lative  power  cannot  achieve  any  enduring  good. 
Without  these  supporting  considerations,  such  legisla 
tion  can  be  urged  only  on  grounds  of  political  expe 
diency.  But  let  no  man  be  misled  by  the  expectation 


Representative  Government  19 

that  any  half-way  measure  will   serve   even  the  end 
of  political  expediency. 

"Regulation  of  R.  R.  Rates  and  Services," 

U.  S.  Senate,  April  19-21,  1906. 

The  Iniquity  of  the  "Conference"  System 

Mr.  President,  a  system  of  rules  giving  into  the 
hands  of  a  conference  the  power  to  make  legislation  is 
destructive  of  democracy. 

I  hope  that  as  a  member  of  this  body  I  shall  live 
to  see  the  rules  with  respect  to  conference  reports  so 
changed  that  it  will  not  be  possible  for  two  or  three 
men  to  dictate  and  put  through  legislation.  This  is 
a  democracy.  We  are  supposed  to  be  the  representa 
tives  of  the  people. 

Our  work  upon  this  floor  and  the  work  of  our  asso 
ciates  at  the  other  end  of  the  cap'tol  is  supposed  to 
represent  public  opinion  and  the  interests  of  the  great 
masses  of  this  country.  But  I  need  not  say  to  the 
senators  what  everybody  knows,  that  very  often  the 
public  will  is  defeated,  that  public  interest  is  perverted, 
and  democracy  is  shackled  in  legislation  as  we  enact  it. 

U.  S.  Senate,  July  26,  1916. 

i 

Never  Know  Defeat  in  a  Good  Cause 

There  is  no  difference  in  principle  in  pressing  the 
same  issue  before  the  people  in  successive  campaigns 
and  in  presenting  the  same  issue  to  the  legislature  in 
successive  sessions.  Our  direct  primary  law,  equali 
zation  of  taxation,  our  railroad  commission,  our  con 
trol  of  public  utilities  and  other  advanced  measures 
were  ultimately  secured  after  a  number  of  hard-fought 
campaigns.  It  was  for  that  very  reason  that  they  won 


20  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

so  completely.  We  not  only  struck  while  the  iron  was 
hot,  we  made  it  hot  and  kept  it  so  by  striking.  That 
is  what  the  new  spirit  of  American  politics  has  taught 
us — never  to  know  defeat  in  a  good  cause. 

Speech  in   U.   S.   Senate   on  Railroad 

Regulation,  April  26,  1913. 

The  Supreme  Issue 

With  the  changing  phases  of  a  twenty-five  year 
contest,  I  have  been  more  and  more  impressed  with 
the  deep  underlying  singleness  of  the  issue.  It  is 
not  railroad  regulation.  It  is  not  the  tariff,  or  con 
servation,  or  the  currency.  It  is  not  the  trusts. 
These  and  other  questions  are  but  manifestations  of 
one  great  struggle. 

The  supreme  issue,  involving  all  others,  is  the 
encroachment  of  the  powerful  few  upon  the  rights 
of  the  many.  This  mighty  power  has  come  bet\veen 
the  people  and  their  government.  Can  we  free  our 
selves  from  this  control  ?  Can  representative  gov 
ernment  be  restored  ?  Shall  \ve,  with  statesmanship 
and  constructive  legislation,  meet  these  problems, 
or  shall  we  pass  them  on  with  all  the  possibilities  of 
conflict  and  chaos,  to  future  generations? 

There  never  was  a  higher  call  to  greater  service 
than  in  this  protracted  fight  for  social  justice.  I 
believe,  with  increasing  depth  of  conviction,  that 
we  will,  in  our  day,  meet  our  responsibility  with 
fearlessness  and  faith  ;  that  \ve  will  reclaim  and  pre 
serve  for  our  children,  not  only  the  form  but  the 
spirit  of  our  free  institutions.  And  in  our  children 
must  we  rest,  our  hope  for  the  ultimate  democracy. 


Representative  Government  21 

It  is  my  settled  belief  that  this  great  power  over 
government  legislation  can  only  be  overthrown  by 
resisting  at  every  step,  seizing  upon  every  impor 
tant  occasion  which  offers  opportunity  to  uncover 
the  methods  of  the  system.  It  matters  little  whether 
the  particular  question  at  issue  is  the  tariff,  the 
railroads,  or  the  currency.  The  fight  is  the  same. 
It  is  not  a  question  of  party  politics.  The  great 
issue  strikes  down  to  the  very  foundation  of  our 
free  institutions.  It  is  against  the  system  built  up 
by  privilege,  which  has  taken  possession  of  gov 
ernment  and  legislation,  that  we  must  make  unceas 
ing  warfare. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

Pledges  of  Political  Platforms 

What  is  a  political  platform?  What  is  its  pur 
pose?  What  is  its  importance  in  democratic  forms 
of  government? 

In  every  republic,  government  is  practically  cer 
tain  to  be  administered  by  some  political  party. 
The  citizen  gives  his  support  to  that  political  party, 
the  principles  of  which  most  nearly  meet  his  ap 
proving  judgment.  These  principles  are  placed  be 
fore  the  citizen  for  his  consideration  in  a  platform 
expressing  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the  party. 
The  method  of  ascertaining  that  will  having  been 
agreed  upon,  the  platform  then  becomes  the  law  of 
the  party  to  which  all  of  its  members  owe  faith, 
support  and  allegiance.  The  promulgation  of  a 
platform  of  declared  principles,  upon  which  the 
voters  are  asked  to  entrust  a  political  party  with 
the  government  of  the  state  or  the  nation,  must  be 


22  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

as  binding  upon  the  party  conscience  as  though  it 
were  the  sealed  bond  of  every  individual  of  the 
party.  The  obligation  is  two-fold  :  first,  to  the  party 
itself;  second,  to  the  citizen  whose  support  is  sought. 
Violation  of  the  party  promise  is  an  assault  upon 
the  party  honor,  destroys  the  confidence  of  its  mem 
bership,  and  endangers  the  existence  of  party  organ 
ization.  It  is  a  betrayal  of  the  public,  a  fraud  upon 
the  citizen  who  supported  it,  and  who,  relying  upon 
it.  has  been  deprived  of  a  sovereign  right.  To  se 
cure  the  support  of  voters  upon  any  promise,  ex 
press  or  implied,  and  then  to  refuse  to  fulfill  the 
promise  deprives  the  citizen  of  his  right  of  suffrage 
as  completely  for  the  time  being  as  though  he  were 
disfranchised  by  legislative  enactment. 

Manhood  suffrage  is  a  precious  right,  and  in  a 
democracy  it  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  personal 
and  property  rights.  Without  it  the  citizen  has  no 
protection  for  home  or  liberty.  If  it  be  denied  to 
him,  the  citizen  becomes  a  serf.  A  party  platform 
is,  therefore,  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  in 
dividual  voter.  When  it  has  been  formulated  by 
the  party  and  promulgated  as  its  declaration  of 
principles,  as  its  pledge  to  do  certain  things,  to  ad 
minister  the  government  in  a  certain  way,  to  enact 
certain  legislation,  the  citizen  is  then  placed  in  a 
position  where  he  can  easily  determine  whether  he 
desires  to  support  the  party  promising  that  kind  of 
government.  It  is  the  party  platform  which  en 
ables  him  to  choose  in  making  his  party  alliance. 
He  understands  that  one  party  or  the  other  will 
control,  and  will  make  and  will  administer  the  laws. 
Guided,  then,  by  the  promises  made  in  the  party 


Representative  Government  23 

platform  he  casts  his  ballot,  gives  his  support,  works 
for  the  triumph  and  success  of  that  party  whose 
platform  principles  most  strongly  appeal  to  his 
judgment.  The  party's  tender  of  its  platform,  the 
citizen's  tender  of  his  support  upon  that  platform, 
makes,  therefore,  a  solemn  compact,  a  covenant, 
which  binds  the  party  to  the  voter,  who  has  staked 
his  faith  and  placed  his  interests  upon  its  honor  and 
in  its  keeping.  The  party,  therefore,  has  become  the 
trustee  of  the  citizen's  right,  and  it  cannot  violate 
the  obligation  which  it  has  assumed. 

But,  more  than  this,  the  party  summons  its  mem 
bers  to  go  forth  bearing  its  banners  and  proclaiming 
its  principles.  It  seeks  out  the  citizen,  it  enlists  him 
in  its  service,  it  urges  him  to  accept  its  pledges, 
and  appeals  to  him  to  go  forth  and  repeat  its  prom 
ises  and  proclaim  its  good  faith,  multiplying,  on 
every  hand,  its  obligations  to  keep  its  word  and 
make  good  every  promise  in  its  platform.  Its  will 
ingness  to  do  this  is  the  test  of  its  integrity  of 
purpose. 

No  fear  need  ever  be  entertained  that  the  party 
itself  will  ignore  or  repudiate  its  platform  obliga 
tions.  Great  bodies  of  men  constituting  party  or 
ganizations  are  drawn  together  by  deep-seated  con 
victions,  lasting  in  character,  and  appealing  strongly 
to  the  sentiments  of  loyalty  and  patriotism.  The 
mass  of  men  composing  party  organizations  can  al 
ways  be  relied  upon  to  support  party  platforms. 
There  will  be  no  failure  through  lack  of  fidelity  on 
their  part.  But  a  political  party  can  only  work  out 
a  practical  application  of  the  principles  of  the  party 
platform  through  legislation  and  administration. 


24  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

To  accomplish  this  it  must,  out  of  all  its  members, 
choose  agents  to  represent  it  and  execute  its  will. 

These  members  of  its  organization  are  placed  be 
fore  the  public  as  its  candidates  for  office,  its  hon 
ored  and  trusted  spokesmen.  In  the  nature  of 
things,  the  party  can  only  execute  its  will  through 
its  chosen  representatives.  They  are  clothed  with 
its  authority ;  they  are  the  custodians  of  its  pledges. 
Upon  them  rests  the  double  obligation  to  execute 
tins  trust;  as  individual  members  of  the  party  they 
share  in  its  responsibility,  but,  as  the  representa 
tives  of  the  party  deputed  to  perform  its  promises, 
its  honor  is  placed  in  their  keeping.  When  the  citi 
zen,  relying  upon  the  pledges  made  in  the  platform 
of  the  party,  gives  his  support  to  the  representative 
of  the  party  and  aids  to  place  him  in  the  public  serv 
ice  to  the  end  that  he  may  fulfill  and  perform,  in 
letter  and  in  spirit,  _the  promises  for  legislation  and 
administration  embodied  in  the  platform,  the  official 
has  become  yet  more  solemnly  bound  to  the  faith 
ful  execution  of  his  sacred  trusts. 

Upon  all  matters,  not  covered  by  the  platform,  in 
his  official  capacity  as  the  agent  of  his  party  and 
the  representatives  of  the  public,  he  may  exercise 
his  best  judgment;  but  in  all  matters  upon  wrhich 
his  political  party  has  spoken  in  its  platform,  when 
that  party  has  put  him  before  the  public  as  its 
nominee,  representing  the  principles  embodied  in 
its  party  declaration,  he  has  no  right  to  exercise  an 
independent  judgment.  He  cannot  play  fast  and 
loose  with  party  promise  and  preserve  a  semblance 
of  official  or  individual  integrity. 


Representative  Government  25 

The  enactment  of  legislation  which  has  been 
pledged  by  the  party  and  endorsed  by  the  people 
cannot  be  defeated,  in  whole  or  in  part,  without  a 
violation  of  obligation.  It  becomes  an  express  trust, 
the  terms  clearly  defined,  and  the  public  official  has 
no  more  moral  right  to  quibble  and  evade,  to  say 
that  he  will  perform  a  part  and  repudiate  the  rest, 
than  he  would  have  to  use  a  part  of  trust  funds 
committed  to  his  keeping  as  a  private  trust. 

If  government  is  to  be  representative  government, 
then  it  must  truly  represent  the  will  of  the  majority  ; 
both  of  the  party  when  it  has  spoken  in  its  platforms 
and  of  the  people  when  they  have  spoken  through 
the  right  of  suffrage,  as  expres'sed  in  their  ballots. 
For  a  minority  to  obstruct  or  delay  or  defeat  the 
will  of  the  majority  is  destructive  of  the  principles 
upon  which  a  republican  form  of  government  is 
founded. 

Speech  Accepting  Nomination  for  Governor, 

May  19,  1904. 

The  Reformer 

It  is  incumbent  upon  the  reformer  who  seeks  to  es 
tablish  a  new  order  to  come  equipped  with  com 
plete  mastery  of  all  the  information  upon  which  the 
established  order  is  based.  And  it  is  for  this  rea 
son  that  the  thoroughgoing,  uncompromising,  Pro 
gressive  movement  is  essentially  a  safe  one  for  the 
public  and  for  all  legitimate  business. 

Reformers  often  stop  fighting  before  the  battle 
is  really  won  ;  before  the  new  territory  is  completely 
occupied. 


26  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

I  have  always  felt  that  the  political  reformer,  like 
the  engineer  or  the  architect,  must  know  that  his 
foundations  are  right.  To  build  the  superstructure 
in  advance  of  that  is  likely  to  be  disastrous  to  the 
whole  thing.  He  must  not  put  the  roof  on  before 
he  gets  the  underpinning  in.  And  the  underpinning 
is  education  of  the  people. 

While  much  has  been  accomplished,  there  is  a 
world  of  problems  to  be  solved;  we  have  just  be 
gun  ;  there  is  hard  fighting,  and  a  chance  for  the 
highest  patriotism,  still  ahead  of  us.  The  funda 
mental  problem  as  to  which  shall  rule,  men  or  prop 
erty,  is  still  unsettled;  it  will  require  the  highest 
qualities  of  heroism,  the  profoundest  devotion  to 
duty  in  this  and  in  the  coming  generation,  to  re 
construct  our  institutions  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  a  new  age.  May  such  brave  and  true  leaders  de 
velop  that  the  people  will  not  be  led  astray. 

Autobiography,  1913. 


II. 

PRIMARY  ELECTIONS 


Ballot  at  Bottom  of  Reform 

HE  existence  of  the  corporation  as  we 
have  it  today  was  not  dreamt  of  by  the 
fathers.  It  has  become  all-pervasive; 
has  invaded  all  departments  of  business, 
all  activities  of  life.  By  their  number 
and  power  and  the  consolidation  oft-times  of  many 
into  one,  corporations  have  practically  acquired  do 
minion  over  the  business  world.  The  effect  is  revo 
lutionary  and  cannot  be  overestimated.  The  individual 
as  a  business  factor  is  disappearing,  his  place  being 
taken  by  many  under  corporate  rule.  The  business 
man  and  artisan  of  the  past  gave  to  his  business  an 
individual  stamp  and  reputation,  making  high  mental 
worth  an  essential  element  of  business  life.  Gathered 
in  corporate  employ  men  become  mere  cogs  in  the 
wheels  of  complicated  mechanism.  The  corporation  is 
a  machine  for  making  money,  demanding  of  its  em 
ployes  only  obedience  and  service,  reducing  men  to 
the  status  of  privates  in  the  regular  army. 

It  is  but  just  to  say  that  no  legislature  has  assem 
bled  in  Wisconsin  in  many  years  containing  so  many 
good  men  as  the  last.  But  when  a  bill  to  punish  cor 
rupt  practices  in  campaigns  and  elections  is  destroyed 
by  amendment ;  when  measures  such  as  the  Davidson 
bills  requiring  corporations  to  pay  a  just  share  of  the 


28  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

taxes  go  down  in  defeat ;  when  bills  to  compel  millions 
of  dollars  of  imtaxed  personal  property  to  come  from 
its  hiding  place  and  help  maintain  government  fail  of 
adequate  support ;  when  republicans  and  democrats 
unite  in  defeating  the  Hall  resolution  to  emancipate 
the  legislature  from  all  subserviency  to  the  corpora 
tions  by  prohibiting  acceptance  of  railroad  passes, 
telegraph  and  express  company  franks ;  when  these 
things  and  many  others  of  like  character  happen  and 
are  made  matters  of  public  record  which  no  man  may 
deny,  then  that  man  is  untrue  to  his  country,  his  party 
and  himself  who  will  not  raise  his  voice  in  condemna 
tion — not  in  condemnation  of  the  principles  of  the 
political  party  in  which  he  believes,  or  of  the  great 
body  of  its  organization,  but  of  the  men  who  betray 
it  and  of  the  methods  by  which  they  control,  only  to 
prostitute  it  to  base  and  selfish  ends. 

The  remedy  is  to  begin  at  the  bottom  and  make  one 
supreme  effort  for  victory  over  the  present  bad  system. 
Nominate  and  elect  men  who  will  pass  a  primary  elec 
tion  law  which  will  enable  the  voter  to  select  directly 
candidates  without  intervention  of  caucus  or  conven 
tion  or  domination  of  machines.  Thus  may  a  perma 
nent  reform  greater  even  than  the  reform  effected  by 
the  Australian  ballot  which  has  so  revolutionized  the 
conduct  of  elections  be  brought  about.  Apply  the 
method  of  the  Australian  ballot  as  embodied  in  the 
Cooper  law  to  the  primary  election  and  let  it  take 
the  place  of  both  the  caucus  and  convention.  Furnish 
the  primary  election  booth  with  ballots  as  under  the 
Australian  system  and  print  on  the  ballot  for  each 
party  the  names  of  the  different  candidates  proposed 
for  its  nominee  as  candidates  for  judicial  offices  are 


Primary  Elections  29 

now  proposed ;  provide  for  the  selection  of  a  committee 
to  represent  each  party  organization  and  promulgate 
the  party  platform  through  such  committee  composed 
of  party  committeemen  elected  by  and  for  the  voters 
of  each  party  in  every  assembly  district  of  the  state. 
Provide  severe  penalties  for  any  violation  of  the  pri 
mary  election  law.  Prohibit  corrupt  influence  in  or 
about  the  election  booth  and  insure  an  honest  count 
and  return  the  votes  as  cast.  Provide  that  each  man 
receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  cast  in  the  bal 
lot  box  of  his  party  for  the  office  for  which  he  is  a 
candidate  shall  be  the  nominee  of  that  party  in  the 
general  election  to  follow.  In  short  pass  such  a  meas 
ure  as  the  Lewis  primary  election  bill.  Under  this 
system  you  will  destroy  the  machine  because  you  de 
stroy  the  caucus  and  convention  system  through  which 
the  machine  controls  party  nominations.  You  will 
place  the  nominations  directly  in  the  hands  of  the 
people.  You  will  restore  to  every  state  in  the  union 
the  government  given  to  this  people  by  the  God  of 
nations. 

Address  "Menace  of  the  Machine," 
Chicago  University,  Feb.  22,  1897. 

Direct  Nominations  Fundamental 

Under  our  form  of  government  the  entire  structure 
rc-sts  upon  the  nomination  of  candidates  for  office. 
This  is  the  foundation  of  the  representative  system. 
If  bad  men  control  the  nominations  we  cannot  have 
good  government.  Let  us  start  right.  The  life  prin 
ciple  of  representative  government  is  that  those  chosen 
to  govern  shall  faithfully  represent  the  governed.  To 
insure  this  the  representative  must  be  chosen  by  those 


30  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

whom  he  is  to  represent.  This  is  fundamental.  A 
system  built  upon  any  other  foundation  is  not  a  rep 
resentative  government.  By  no  other  means  can  it  be 
established  or  maintained.  The  moment  that  any 
power  or  authority  over  the  representative  comes  be 
tween  him  and  those  who  have  selected  him  to  be  their 
representative  that  moment  he  ceases  to  be  their  rep 
resentative.  His  responsibility  is  at  once  transferred 
to  the  intervening  power  or  authority.  He  becomes 
the  trustee  of  this  new  authority  and  to  it  he  must 
render  account  for  his  actions.  It  is  vital  then  in 
representative  government  that  no  power  or  authority 
shall  be  permitted  to  come  between  the  representative 
and  those  whom  he  is  to  represent.  To  secure  this 
every  complication  of  detail  and  method,  in  any  sys 
tem,  behind  which  such  intruding  power  or  authority 
might  be  concealed  must  be  torn  down  and  cast  aside. 
The  voter,  and  the  candidate  for  nomination  who  de 
sires  to  represent  the  voter,  must  be  brought  within 
reaching  distance  of  each  other,  must  stand  face  to 
face. 

To  accomplish  this  we  must  abolish  the  caucus  and 
convention  by  law,  place  the  nomination  of  all  can 
didates  in  the  hands  of  the  people,  adopt  the  Australian 
ballot  and  make  all  nominations  by  direct  vote  at  a 
primary  election. 

With  the  nominations  of  all  candidates  absolutely 
in  the  control  of  the  people,  under  a  system  that  gives 
every  member  of  a  party  equal  voice  in  making  that 
nomination,  the  public  official  who  desires  re-nomina 
tion  will  not  dare  to  seek  it,  if  he  has  served  the 
machine  and  the  lobby  and  betrayed  the  public  trust; 


Primary  Elections  31 

if  he  has  violated  the  pledges  of  his  party  and  swapped 
its  declared  principles  to  special  interests  for  special 
favors. 

But  under  a  primary  election  the  public  official  who 
has  kept  faith  with  the  public  can  appeal  to  that  pub 
lic  for  its  approval  with  confidence.  He  will  then  have 
every  incentive  to  keep  his  official  record  clean.  If 
he  have  no  loftier  standard  than  mere  personal  success 
he  will  nevertheless  so  administer  his  office  as  to  earn 
the  commendation  "Well  done  thou  good  and  faith 
ful  servant." 

The  nomination  of  all  their  candidates  by  the  direct 
vote  of  the  people  is  the  spirit,  the  very  life  of  repre 
sentative  government.  It  is  plain,  simple,  practical. 
It  is  their  right.  It  will  come.  Whoever  seeks  to 
thwart  or  defeat  it  is  an  enemy  of  representative  gov 
ernment.  Let  him  be\vare !  Whoever  would  control 
as  the  agent  of  the  machine  will  encounter  lasting  de 
feat.  Let  him  beware !  The  country  is  awakening, 
the  people  are  aroused.  They  will  have  their  own. 
The  machine  may  obstruct,  misdirected  reform  may 
temporize,  but  "be  of  good  cheer,  strengthen  thine 
heart,"  the  will  of  the  people  shall  prevail. 

I  appeal  to  you,  young  men  and  old,  plain  citizens 
and  politicians.  You  are  confronted  with  a  great  re 
sponsibility.  In  this  contest  you  must  either  stand  for 
representative  government  or  against  it.  The  fight  is 
on.  It  will  continue  to  victory.  There  will  be  no  halt 
and  no  compromise. 

Address  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan, 
March  12,  i 


32  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Means  Higher  Standards  of  Service 

For  many  years  there  has  been  a  growing  demand 
for  ballot  reform.  Intelligent,  patriotic  men  of  all 
parties  have  weighed  carefully  the  influence  of  the 
ballot  upon  both  government  and  party.  The  public 
official  who  can  count  on  party  loyalty  to  carry  him 
through,  growls  indifferent  and  dishonest  in  the  public 
service.  The  political  party  which  is  strongly  in 
trenched  in  power  behind  a  blind  partisan  majority, 
scorns  public  opinion  and  claims  its  share  of  graft 
to  enrich  bosses  and  maintain  the  party  machine.  To 
control  the  selection  of  candidates  for  office,  to  hedge 
the  party  organization  about  with  a  sentiment  that  the 
party  is  a  sacred  thing,  to  so  arouse  partisan  feeling  in 
the  campaign  as  to  fuse  the  mass  of  voters  together, 
and  make  them  vote  as  one  man,  has  made  possible 
the  era  of  official  dishonesty,  which  seems  to  have 
taken  possession  of  the  public  service  everywhere. 
Out  of  it  there  came  to  political  bosses  a  sense  of  se 
curity  which  made  them  bo'd  in  dealing  with  the 
agents  of  the  captains  of  industry,  who  have  found  it 
to  their  interests  to  make  politics  and  government  a 
matter  of  business. 

Whatever  conduces  to  make  the  voter  as  he  enters 
the  election  booth  free  to  exercise  an  independent 
judgment,  to  consider  the  public  welfare,  the  integrity 
of  the  state  and  the  country  first  of  all,  will  at  once 
establish  higher  party  standards  and  better  public 
service. 

Message  to  Legislature,  Special  Sess:on,  1905. 


Primary  Elections  33 

Caucus  Reform  Idle  Dream 

Corporations,  exacting  large  sums  from  the  people 
of  this  state  in  profits  upon  business  transacted  within 
its  limits,  either  wholly  escape  taxation  or  pay  insig- 
n'ficantly  in  comparison  with  the  average  citizen  of 
Wisconsin. 

Owning  two-thirds  of  the  personal  property,  evad- 
irg  the  payment  of  taxes  wherever  possible,  the  cor 
porations  throw  almost  the  whole  burden  upon  land — 
upon  the  little  homes  and  the  personal  property  of  the 
farmers. 

While  this  is  getting  to  be  somewhat  understood, 
yet  a  rig'.d  investigation  of  this  whole  subject  of 
evasion  of  taxation  by  corporations  and  the  possessors 
of  great  wealth  in  every  state,  would  awaken  the 
just  wrath  of  the  people  and  inaugurate  a  reform 
which  might  reach  even  to  the  machine-made  legisla 
tors  of  the  day. 

But  in  a  government  where  the  people  are  sovereign, 
why  are  these  things  tolerated?  Why  are  not  the 
remedies  promptly  applied  and  the  evils  eradicated? 
Ii  is  because  today  there  is  a  force  operating  in  this 
country,  more  powerful  than  the  sovereign  in  matters 
pertaining  to  official  conduct.  The  official  obeys  whom 
he  serves.  Nominated  independently  of  the  people 
and  elected  because  there  is  no  choice  between  candi 
dates  so  nominated,  the  official  feels  responsibility 
to  his  master  alone,  and  his  master  is  the  political 
machine  of  his  party. 

Between  the  people  and  the  representative  there  has 
been  built  up  a  political  machine  which  is  the  master 
of  both.  It  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  caucus  and  con 
vention  system. 


34  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Experience  has  proved  it  to  be  almost  idle  folly  to 
attend  caucuses  and  conventions  with  the  hope  of  de 
feating  the  machine  until  today,  after  a  century  of 
statesmanship  and  of  struggle  and  sacrifice,  after  all 
the  triumphs  achieved  under  the  stars  and  stripes, 
thousands  and  thousands  of  good  citizens  in  every 
state  stand  aloof  from  the  caucus  and  convention  with 
the  settled  belief  that  representative  government  is  a 
failure. 

When  the  solemn  promise  of  a  great  political  party 
to  prohibit  the  issuing  of  railway  passes  to  officials  is 
not  only  broken  but  attempted  to  be  repudiated,  when 
these  things,  and  many  others  of  like  character,  trans 
pire  and  are  made  matters  of  public  record,  which  no 
man  can  deny,  then  that  man  is  untrue  to  his  state, 
his  party  and  himself  who  will  not  raise  his  voice  in 
condemnation — not  in  condemnation  of  the  principles 
of  the  political  party  in  which  he  believes,  nor  of  the 
great  body  of  its  organization,  but  of  those  men  who 
betray  it  and  the  methods  by  which  they  control  only 
to  prostitute  it  to  base  and  selfish  ends. 

When  legislators  will  boldly  repudiate  their  con 
stituents  and  violate  the  pledges  of  their  platforms, 
then,  indeed,  have  the  servants  become  the  masters 
and  the  people  ceased  to  be  sovereign.  Gone  the 
government  of  equal  rights  and  equal  responsibili 
ties,  lost  the  jewel  of  constitutional  liberty. 

Speech  at  Lodi,  Wisconsin,  1898. 

Second  Choice  Voting 

I  congratulate  you,  and  through  you,  the  people  of 
Wisconsin  upon  the  adoption  of  a  law  for  the  nomina 
tion  of  all  candidates  for  office  by  direct  vote.  The 


Primary  Elections  35 

demand  of  the  voters  of  this  state  for  such  a  law  had 
been  made  many  times  in  a  clear  and  explicit  manner. 
Its  defeat,  against  the  will  of  the  majority,  was  the 
clearest  impeachment  of  the  caucus  and  convention 
system  which  made  it  possible  for  a  minority  to  con 
trol. 

When  after  years  of  delay  the  people  of  Wisconsin 
were  granted  the  opportunity  finally  to  determine  the 
question,  they  wrote  the  law  upon  the  statutes  of  Wis 
consin  by  more  than  50,000  majority.  The  perfection 
of  legislation  can  only  be  determined  by  the  practical 
test  of  experience.  With  respect  to  any  modifications 
in  the  existing  statute  during  the  present  session,  I 
have  no  recommendations  to  make  further  than  to 
repeat  a  suggestion  heretofore  made. 

In  the  first  message  submitted  to  the  legislature  of 
1901  upon  the  subject,  after  discussing  the  possibility 
of  the  vote  being'£o  divided  among  a  number  of  can 
didates  for  the  sSKe  office  that  no  one  of  them  might 
receive  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast,  I  said: 

"If,  however,  upon  trial,  it  should  be  found  desir 
able  or  if,  in  your  judgment,  it  should  be  deemed  wise 
at  the  outset,  this  objection  can  be  effectively  met  by 
providing  that  the  voter  at  the  primary  shall  indicate 
upon  his  ballot  his  first  and  second  choice  of  the  can 
didates  presented  for  each  office.  And  that  if  no 
candidate  has  majority  over  all  candidates  of  first 
choice,  then  the  candidate  having  the  largest  number 
of  first  and  second  choice  votes  shall  be  accorded  the 
nomination." 

The  application  of  this  principle  may  be  carried 
still  further,  insuring  a  nomination  by  majority  vote. 


36  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Upon  this,  or  any  other  branch  of  this  great  sub 
ject,  the  best  thought  of  your  honorable  body  will  be 
well  bestowed.  For  it  is  our  duty  to  unite  at  all  times 
to  give  to  the  people  of  th:s  state  the  best  statute  which 
can  be  framed  upon  any  subject. 

Message  to  Legislature,  1905. 

Primary  as  Citizen's  Right 

But,  gentlemen  of  the  convention,  with  all  of 
your  good  work,  nothing  which  you  have  done, 
nothing  which  has  been  done  by  any  convention  in 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  will  give  to  every  man  who 
has  had  a  share  in  this  \vork,  such  enduring  honor 
wrhen  it  shall  have  ripened  into  statutory  law,  as 
the  declaration  made  here  today,  for  the  nomination 
of  all  candidates  by  direct  vote  at  a  primary  election 
under  the  Australian  ballot.  The  tests  of  experience 
will  doubtless  be  required  to  perfect  all  the  working 
details  of  a  primary  election  law.  It  wrould  be 
strange  indeed  if  it  were  not  so.  But  your  great 
achievement  is  in  having  established  the  principle 
and  begun  the  overthrow  of  a  system  that  is  under 
mining  the  representative  government  throughout 
the  land.  No  longer  in  Wisconsin  will  there  stand 
between  the  voter  and  the  official  a  political  machine 
with  a  complicated  system  of  caucuses  and  conven 
tions,  by  the  easy  manipulation  of  which  it  thwarts 
the  will  of  the  voter  and  rules  official  conduct.  No 
valid  reason  can  be  given  for  continuing  the  caucus 
and  convention  another  day.  If  the  voter  is  com 
petent  to  cast  his  ballot  at  the  general  election  for 
the  official  of  his  choice,  he  is  equally  competent  to 
vote  directly  at  the  primary  election  for  the  nomina- 


Primary  Elections  37 

tion  of  the  candidates  of  his  party.  It  is  his  right 
as  a  citizen  and  taxpayer  and  who  will  dare  to  gain 
say  or  deny  it? 

Inspired  with  confidence  by  the  great  reforma 
tion  accomplished  in  our  general  elections  through 
the  Australian  ballot,  we  advance  the  standards  of 
reform  and  demand  the  application  of  the  same 
method  in  making  nominations  together  with  the 
sovereign  right  that  each  citizen  shall  for  himself 
exercise  his  choice  by  direct  vote,  without  the  inter 
vention  or  interference  of  any  political  agency. 

Into  the  life  of  every  generation  comes  some  great 
opportunity  for  great  public  good.  It  has  come  to 
you  today  and,  wTith  high  courage  and  patriotism, 
you  have  marked  the  way  to  restore  to  the  people 
the  pure  form  of  representative  government  given 
them  by  the  fathers  in  the  beginning. 

Accepting  Nomination  for   Governor, 

August  8,  1900. 

Equal  Voice  Essential 

Commissioned  by  the  suffrages  of  the  citizens  of 
this  state  to  represent  them,  you  will  have  neither 
in  the  session  before  you  nor  in  any  official  respon 
sibility  which  you  may  assume,  a  more  important 
duty  than  that  of  perfecting  and  writing  upon  the 
statute  books  of  Wisconsin  a  primary  election  law. 

It  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  this  republic  that 
each  citizen  shall  have  equal  voice  in  government. 
This  is  recognized  and  guaranteed  to  him  through 
the  ballot.  In  a  representative  democracy,  where  a 
citizen  cannot  act  for  himself  for  any  reason,  he 


38  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

must  delegate  his  authority  to  the  public  official 
who  acts  for  him.  Since  government,  with  us,  is 
conducted  by  the  representatives  of  some  political 
party,  the  citizen's  voice  in  making  and  administer 
ing  the  laws  is  expressed  through  his  party  ballot. 
This  privilege  is  vital.  This  is  the  initial  point  of 
all  administration.  It  is  here  government  begins, 
and  if  there  be  failure  here,  there  will  be  failure 
throughout.  Control  lost  at  this  point  is  never  re 
gained  ;  rights  surrendered  here  are  never  restored. 
The  naming  of  the  men  upon  the  party  ticket  is  the 
naming  of  the  men  who  will  make  and  enforce  the 
laws.  It  not  only  settles  the  policy  of  the  party,  it 
determines  the  character  of  the  government. 

For  many  years  the  evils  of  the  caucus  and  con 
tention  system  have  multiplied  and  baffled  all  at 
tempts  at  legislative  control  or  correction.  The 
reason  for  this  is  elementary.  The  evils  come  not 
from  without  but  from  within.  The  system  in  all 
its  details  is  inherently  bad.  It  not  only  favors,  but, 
logically  and  inevitably,  produces  manipulation, 
scheming,  trickery,  fraud  and  corruption.  The  del 
egate  elected  in  caucus  is  nominally  the  agent  of 
the  voter  to  act  for  him  in  convention.  Too  fre 
quently  he  has  his  own  interests  alone  at  heart,  and, 
for  this  reason,  has  secured  his  selection  as  a  dele 
gate.  As  a  consequence,  he  acts  not  for  the  voter, 
but  serves  his  own  purpose  instead.  This  fact  in 
itself  taints  the  trust  from  the  outset,  and  poisons 
the  system  at  its  very  source.  No  legitimate  busi 
ness  could  survive  under  a  system  where  authority 
to  transact  its  vital  matters  were  delegated  and  re- 
delegated  to  agents  and  sub-agents,  wrho  controlled 


Primary  Elections  39 

their  own  selection,  construed  their  own  obliga 
tions,  and  were  responsible  to  nobody. 

The  officials  nominated  by  the  machine  become 
its  faithful  servants  and  surrender  judgment  to  its 
will.  This  they  must  do  in  self-preservation  or  they 
are  retired  to  private  life.  Wielding  a  power  sub 
stantially  independent  of  the  voter,  it  is  quite  un 
necessary  to  regard  him  as  an  important  factor  in 
government.  He  can  usually  be  depended  upon  in 
the  elections,  because  campaigns  are  so  managed  as 
to  make  strong  appeal  to  party  feeling,  and  he  has 
to  vote  his  party  ticket  or  support  that  of  the  op 
position  nominated  by  the  same  method.  Under  our 
system  of  party  government  the  selection  of  the 
candidate  is  the  vital  question. 

A  political  convention  is  never  a  deliberative  body. 
It  is  impossible  from  the  brevity  of  its  life,  the  con 
fusion  of  its  proceedings,  the  intangible  character 
of  its  records,  to  fix  or  attach  any  abiding  sense  of 
responsibility  in  its  membership.  Its  business  is 
rushed  through  under  pressure  for  time.  Excite 
ment  and  impatience  control,  rather  than  reason  and 
judgment.  Noisy  enthusiasm  outweighs  the  strong 
est  argument.  Misstatements  and  misunderstand 
ings  will  defeat  the  best  candidate.  The  plain  truth 
can  hardly  keep  pace  with  hurrying  events.  It  is 
rare,  indeed,  that  the  results  of  a  convention  are 
satisfactory  to  anybody  excepting  the  few  who  se 
cure  some  personal  advantage  or  benefit  from  it. 

It  is  the  essence  of  republican  government  that 
the  citizen  should  act  for  himself  directly  wherever 
possible.  In  the  exercise  of  no  other  right  is  this  so 
important  as  in  the  nomination  of  candidates  for  of- 


40  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

fice.  It  is  of  primary  importance  that  the  public 
official  should  hold  himself  directly  accountable  to 
the  citizen.  This  he  will  do  only  when  he  owes  his 
nomination  directly  to  the  citizen.  If  between  the 
citizen  and  the  official  there  is  a  complicated  system 
of  caucuses  and  conventions,  by  the  easy  manipula 
tion  of  which  the  selection  of  candidates  is  con 
trolled  by  some  other  agency  or  power,  then  the 
official  will  so  render  his  services  as  to  have  the 
approval  of  such  agency  or  power.  The  overwhelm 
ing  demand  of  the  people  of  this  state,  whom  you 
represent,  is  that  such  intervening  power  and  au 
thority,  and  the  complicated  system  which  sustains 
it,  shall  be  torn  down  and  cast  aside.  This  is  your 
duty,  and  high  privilege  as  well,  to  accomplish  it  in 
the  session  before  you.  This,  it  is  well  understood, 
cannot  be  accomplished  by  any  temporizing  meas 
ure  or  so-called  caucus  reforms.  The  defects  of  the 
caucus,  convention  and  delegate  system  are  fatal 
because  organic.  It  cannot  be  amended,  recon 
structed  or  reorganized,  and  its  perpetuation  se 
cured.  Its  end  is  decreed  by  the  enlightened  moral 
sentiment  of  the  entire  country.  It  can  no  more 
resist  the  development  which  is  sweeping  it  aside 
than  could  the  adoption  of  the  Australian  ballot  be 
successfully  opposed  a  short  ten  years  ago.  It  may 
secure  trifling  delays  by  temporary  expedients.  Its 
advocates  may  insist  on  making  it  a  fetich  and  being 
sacrificed  with  it.  But  its  knell  has  been  sounded  in 
Wisconsin,  where  it  is  already  defeated,  and  a  de 
cade  will  leave  scarcely  a  trace  of  its  complicated 
machinery  in  existence  in  any  State  of  the  Union. 
Message  to  Legislature,  1901. 


Primary  Elections  41 

Primary  Deserving  of  Fair  Test 

I  herewith  return  without  approval  bill  No.  73, 
originating-  in  the  senate,  entitled  "An  act  relating 
to  nominations  of  county  officers  by  direct  vote." 

The  history  of  the  effort  to  secure  a  primary  elec 
tion  law  in  this  state,  the  character  of  the  opposi 
tion,  and  the  means  employed  to  defeat  it  demand  a 
permanent  place  in  the  legislative  record  of  this 
session.  It  is  therefore  from  a  controlling  sense  of 
obligation  that  I  submit  the  following  in  connection 
with  specific  reasons  for  interposing  the  executive 
veto  to  prevent  this  bill  from  becoming  a  law. 

More  than  four  years  ago  the  contest  for  nomina 
tions  by  direct  vote  of  the  people  began  in  this 
state.  The  principle  was  then  clearly  defined.  The 
plan  under  which  it  could  be  accomplished  was  then 
fully  presented.  More  than  that,  the  foundation 
and  framework  for  a  primary  election  law  wrere  at 
that  time  set  forth  and  submitted  to  the  people  of 
this  state  as  follows  : 

"Substitute  for  both  the  caucus  and  the  conven 
tion  a  primary  election  held  under  all  the  sanctions 
of  law  which  prevail  at  general  elections,  where  the 
citizen  may  cast  his  vote  directly  to  nominate  the 
candidates  of  the  party  with  which  he  affiliates,  and 
have  it  canvassed  and  returned  as  he  cast  it. 

"Provide  a  means  of  placing  the  candidates  in 
nomination  before  the  primary  and  forestall  the 
creation  of  a  new  caucus  system  back  of  the  primary 
election. 

"Provide  a  ballot  for  the  primary  election  and 
print  on  it  the  names  of  all  candidates  for  nomina- 


42  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

tion  who  have  previously  filed  preliminary  nomina 
tion  papers  with  a  designated  official. 

"Provide  that  no  candidate  for  nomination  shall 
have  his  name  printed  on  the  primary  election  ticket 
who  shall  not  have  been  called  out  as  a  candidate  by 
the  written  request  of  a  given  percentage  of  the 
vote  cast  at  the  preceding  election  in  the  district, 
county  or  state  in  which  he  is  proposed  as  a  candi 
date,  in  the  same  manner  that  judicial  candidates 
are  now  called  out  in  many  states. 

"Provide  for  the  selection  of  a  committee  to  repre 
sent  the  party  organization  and  promulgate  the 
party  platform  by  the  election  at  the  primary  of  a 
representative  man  from  the  party  for  each  county 
in  the  state. 

Measure  Fully  Discussed 

"Under  severe  penalties  for  violation  of  the  law, 
prohibit  electioneering  in  or  about  the  election 
booth,  punish  bribery  or  the  attempt  to  bribe,  and 
protect  fully  the  canvass  and  return  of  the  votes 
cast." 

Excepting  as  to  the  manner  of  making  the  plat 
form,  which  is  not  the  same,  this  presents  fairly  all 
the  essential  provisions  of  the  primary  election  bill 
as  originally  introduced  at  this  session.  It  would 
be  difficult,  indeed,  to  cite  another  instance  in  the 
history  of  the  state  where  a  great  measure,  of  such 
fundamental  importance  in  government,  was  more 
fully  and  clearly  outlined  and  more  generally  dis 
cussed  so  long  in  advance.  No  haste  was  anywhere 
shown  to  urge  legislation.  Whatever  was  done  was 
solely  with  the  view  of  stimulating  thought  and 


Primary  Elections  43 

argument  of  the  measure  upon  its  merits.  From 
platform  and  pulpit,  before  agricultural  societies, 
good  government  clubs,  political  clubs,  debating 
societies,  in  the  schoolhouses  and  public  halls, 
wherever  men  were  gathered  together,  the  dangers 
which  threaten  representative  government  were  dis 
cussed,  the  cause  plainly  traced  to  the  selection  of 
candidates  by  the  bosses,  the  vital  importance  of 
election  by  the  people  by  direct  vote,  and  the  neces 
sary  provisions  of  a  primary  law  were  fully  and 
fairly  presented.  The  press  of  the  state,  almost 
without  exception,  gave  the  subject  editorial  treat 
ment  from  time  to  time,  while  the  leading  period 
icals  and  magazines  of  the  country,  widely  read  by  our 
people,  devoted  much  space  to  its  consideration. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  pamphlets  and  addresses 
presenting  every  phase  of  the  issue  and  meeting 
the  arguments  and  objections  of  the  opposition 
were  distributed  throughout  the  state.  The  entire 
matter  was  thoroughly  well  understood.  Indeed, 
so  plainly  were  the  provisions  of  the  primary  elec 
tion  bill  outlined,  so  fully  was  the  principle  and  its 
application  discussed,  so  emphatically  approved  by 
the  voters  of  Wisconsin  in  the  last  election,  that  the 
defeat  of  the  bill  is  a  plain  violation  of  the  principle 
upon  which  is  based  a  "government  of  the  people, 
by  the  people,  and  for  the  people."  It  was  so  over 
whelmingly  approved  by  the  voters  because  they 
were  everywhere  ready  for  it.  The  machine  haa 
prepared  the  way.  Not  a  county,  not  a  community 
but  had  its  bpss  and  master,  who  in  turn  had  his, 
higher  up  in  the  feudal  system  which  then  controlled 
the  commonwealth.  State  officers  and  members  of 


44  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

the  legislature  were  named  by  less  than  half  a  dozen 
gentlemen  equal  in  authority,  absolutely  at  their 
pleasure.  Such  was  the  sense  of  security  which 
unopposed  po\ver  inspires,  that  nominations  were 
settled  sometimes  months  in  advance  of  conven 
tions  called  merely  to  "ratify"  the  same.  In  state 
conventions  delegates  were  bribed  to  betray  their 
constituents  by  men  who  had  held  high  official  sta 
tion.  So  brazen  and  reckless  did  their  agents  be 
come  in  approaching  decent  men  who  spurned  their 
offers  that  good  citizenship  was  everywhere  ready 
for  open  revolt.  Representative  government  was 
being  practically  undermined.  The  men  were  not 
the  candidates  of  the  voters  but  of  the  machine 
The  official  was  no  longer  the  servant  of  the  people, 
but  the  abject  tool  of  the  men  who  fought  the  nom 
ination  and  owned  the  official.  These  gentlemen 
had  from  time  to  time  manifested  their  power  in 
debauching  legislation  and  their  evil  work  is  found 
today  in  many  statutes,  affecting  adversely  the  in 
terests  of  every  citizen  of  the  state. 

The  remedy  proposed — the  nomination  of  all  can 
didates  by  direct  vote  of  the  citizen — went  straight 
to  the  heart  of  the  trouble.  It  brought  the  business 
of  choosing  candidates  back  to  the  basic  principle 
of  pure  democratic  government.  It  eliminated  the 
boss  and  the  machine.  It  left  no  place  for  either. 
It  was  a  new  declaration  of  independence.  It  pro 
claimed  to  the  \vorld  that  the  people  proposed  to 
take  charge  of  the  business  of  government  for  them 
selves.  It  was  so  manifestly  right,  so  plainly  neces 
sary  to  rescue  representative  government  from  ab 
solute  overthrow  by  machine  control,  which  is  al- 


Primary  Elections  45 

ways  minority  control,  that  it  quickly  received  the 
approval  of  the  thoughful  and  patriotic  citizenship 
of  the  state  without  respect  to  party  alliance. 

Clearly  understanding  the  meaning  and  full  scope 
of  their  action,  each  of  the  great  political  parties  of 
the  state — the  Democrats  in  1898  and  the  Republi 
cans  in  1900 — adopted  in  their  respective  platforms, 
without  qualification  or  limitation,  the  principle  for 
the  nomination  of  all  candidates  by  direct  vote  of 
the  people  at  a  primary  election,  in  lieu  of  nomina 
tions  by  delegates  through  the  machinery  of  cau 
cuses  and  conventions. 

Platform   Pledge    Important 

In  every  republic  the  laws  are  very  certain  to  be 
made  and  administered  by  the  representatives  of 
some  political  party.  It  therefore  becomes  a  ques 
tion  of  deep  concern  to  every  citizen  to  determine 
with  what  party  he  will  affiliate.  This  is  all-import 
ant  to  him,  and  to  guide  him  in  deciding,  political 
parties  present  their  purposes  and  their  promises  to 
perform,  in  the  declarations  adopted  as  the  party's 
pledge  or  platform/  This  is  offered  to  the  voter  for 
his  consideration. 

Otherwise  he  cannot  know  for  what  kind  of  gov 
ernment  he  is  casting  his  vote.  It  is  a  contract  pure 
and  simple.  The  party  which  adopts  it,  the  candi 
date  who  accepts  a  nomination  upon  it,  is  solemnly 
bound  by  its  obligations.  If  he  is  not  in  accord  with 
it  he  has  neither  moral  nor  political  right  to  be  a 
candidate.  To  stand  as  the  candidate  of  a  party  not 
agreeing  with  its  platform,  to  solicit  the  suffrages 


46  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

of  the  citizen,  and  when  elected  to  violate  the  prom 
ises  of  that  platform  is  to  cheat  and  betray  the 
voter.  .It  is  an  evasion  unworthy  of  the  grave  char 
acter  of  this  great  question  to  say  that  the  con 
stituent  trusts  to  the  independent  judgment  of  his 
representative.  In  those  matters  as  to  which  the 
party  and  its  representatives  have  been  pledged  he 
has  no  right  afterward  to  set  up  an  independent 
judgment.  If  he  has  independent  opinions  not  in 
conformity  with  his  party  platform  he  should  assert 
them  before  the  party  and  the  voter  have  accepted 
him  as  the  representative  of  the  principle  embodied 
in  the  platform.  As  to  those  matters  it  is  too  late 
to  talk  of  "independent  judgment."  That  for  which 
he  stands — the  declarations  and  promises  of  his 
party  to  the  public — is  a  sacred  public  trust,  and  to 
its  faithful  execution  as  a  man  and  public  official  he 
is  in  honor  bound. 

These  observations  are  submitted  because  the 
consideration  of  legislation,  to  control  in  any  way 
party  nominations,  embraces  within  its  scope  and 
emphasizes  in  a  marked  way  the  relation  of  political 
parties  to  government,  of  the  cjtizen  to  his  political 
party,  and  of  the  public  official  to  his  constituent, 
his  party  and  the  state.  These  relations  and  the  ob 
ligations  imposed  must  in  matters  of  special  import 
ance  be  defined  by  platform  declarations.  This  is 
even  more  imperative  in  state  government  where 
the  issues  are  not  political,  in  that  sense  which  dis 
tinguishes  where  national  politics  are  involved.  In 
matters  of  national  legislation  and  national  adminis 
tration  political  policies  are  expected  to  control. 
The  issues  are  clearly  defined  on  all  the  principal 


Primary  Elections  47 

subjects   of   legislation.     This   would   be   generally 
true  in  the  absence  of  platform  declarations.     The 
traditions  of  parties  and  the  fundamental  principles 
upon  which  they  were  organized  point  the  way  they 
are  certain  to  go.    For  these  reasons  the  voter  does 
not  feel  bound  to  consider  so  critically  the  construc 
tion  of  the  national  platform  of  his  party,   unless 
there  be  incorporated  in  it  some  new  and  unortho 
dox  party  creed.     But  state  legislation  deals  with 
the  subjects  of  taxation,  the  maintenance  and  regu 
lation  of  our  system  of  jurisdiction,  the  support  and 
care  for  the  charitable  and  penal   institutions,  the 
nurture  and  development  of  our  educational  system, 
the  regulation  of  banking  and  insurance,  and  other 
purely  domestic  affairs,  where  political  division  is 
impossible.     Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  substanti 
ally  all   state  legislation   is  strictly   nonpartisan   in 
character.    Hence,  if  political  lines  cannot  be  drawn 
in  the  legislature  because  the  subjects  of  legislation 
are  not  political,  then  the  voter  cannot  anticipate 
what  action  wrill  follow  the  election  of  a  given  set 
of  officials  upon  the  matters  in  which  he  is  most 
deeply  interested,   excepting  as  the  candidates  are 
committed  in  advance  by  pledges  of  the  respective 
parties.     It  therefore  becomes  imperative  that  the 
proposed   policies   of   state   government   should   be 
clearly  denned  in  platform  declarations   and   fully 
presented  to  the  people  of  the  state,  that  they  may 
decide  by  their  sovereign  voice  what  kind  of  state 
government  they  are  to  have,  and  in  so  far  as  prac 
ticable  what  laws  are  to  be  enacted  and  what  gen 
eral  policies  shall  be  pursued. 

Veto  Message,  May  10,   1901. 


48  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Transfer  of  Power  Weakens  Authority 

Compelling  the  citizen  to  hand  his  sovereign  right, 
to  vote  directly  for  the  candidates  of  his  choice, 
over  to  some  caucus  delegate,  to  be  turned  over  to 
some  convention  delegate  to  barter  for  something 
for  himself,  impairs  the  voter's  right  of  suffrage, 
and  its  evil  effects  in  representative  government  are 
more  strikingly  manifest  in  the  actions  of  the  public 
official  than  of  the  private  citizen. 

The  official  well  understands  that  his  nomination 
through  delegates  invariably  is  secured  without  the 
consent  of  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  his  party,  or 
indeed,  without  the  consent  of  even  a  fair  minority 
of  his  party.  He  wrell  knowrs  the  value  of  the  pow 
erful  influence  of  public-service  corporations  through 
the  caucus  and  convention,  and  this  knowledge 
bears  strongly  upon  his  official  action.  He  reasons 
that  under  ordinary  circumstances  the  unlimited  use 
of  money,  the  support  of  purchasable  newspapers, 
the  maintenance  of  perfect  organization,  all  attain 
able  through  the  vast  resources  of  such  corpora 
tions,  will,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  enable 
him  to  succeed  in  politics. 

No  man  can  have  witnessed  the  protracted  strug 
gle  in  this  state  to  secure  legislation  equalizing  the 
burdens  of  taxation,  no  man  can  have  witnessed  the 
defeat  of  bills  increasing  the  taxation  of  the  rail 
roads  to  more  nearly  their  justly  proportionate 
share,  and  escape  the  conviction  that  the  present 
method  of  selecting  candidates  for  office  is  radically 
defective.  It  cannot  be  seriously  doubted  that  under 
a  system  of  nominations  by  direct  vote  of  the  peo- 


Primary  Elections  49 

pie,  their  influence  upon  the  official  could  not  fail  to 
be  very  much  more  pronounced  and  direct.  He 
v.-ould  well  understand  that  in  order  to  secure  their 
approval  and  support  to  continue  him  in  public 
life,  he  must  win  that  approval  upon  the  merit  of 
his  record  in  their  service.  He  would  know  that 
every  vote  cast,  every  act  as  a  representative  in  aid 
of  measures  or  opposed  to  measures  affecting  the 
public  interest,  would  be  canvassed  and  reviewed 
when  he  came  to  seek  re-nomination ;  hence,  his 
record  as  a  public  official  would  be  made  day  by 
day  with  that  sense  of  personal  responsibility,  aris 
ing  from  a  knowledge  of  direct  and  certain  account 
ability  to  the  people,  pointing  the  way  he  should  go. 

This  is  the  one  thing  needful  in  a  republican  form 
of  government,  and  the  one  thing  which  cannot  be 
dispensed  with  in  any  of  the  affairs  of  life  where  one 
man  performs  services  for  another.  No  trust  wrould 
be  safe,  unless  the  trustee  knew  that  he  would  be 
required  to  render  an  account  of  his  stewardship  to 
one  having  authority  to  terminate  it.  In  no  other 
trust  positions  are  the  opportunities  for  evading 
responsibility  so  many  or  the  temptations  for  be 
trayal  so  great  and  the  likelihood  of  confusing  and 
befogging  the  issue  so  favorable  as  in  the  public 
service.  Hence  it  is  imperative  that  the  trustee  be 
required  to  account  directly  to  those  whom  he  rep 
resents  in  the  discharge  of  his  trust. 

This  is  the  fatal  defect  in  the  caucus  and  conven 
tion  system  of  selecting  candidates  to  be  elected  to 
office.  Even  if  men  chosen  as  delegates  in  the 
caucuses  and  conventions  were  never  guilty  of  a 
wilful  and  corrupt  betrayal  of  trust,  if  bargains  and 


50  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

deals  and  bribery  could  be  eliminated,  nevertheless 
the  entire  plan  should  be  abolished  because  it  re-, 
moves  the  nomination  too  far  from  the  voter,  the 
trustee  too  far  from  him  for  whom  he  bears  the 
trust,  the  agent  too  far  from  the  principal.  Every 
transfer  of  delegated  power  weakens  authority  and 
diminishes  responsibility  until  the  candidate  nom 
inated  represents  nothing  that  the  voter  wanted, 
feels  under  no  obligation  to  the  voter  for  his  nom 
ination,  nor  is  he  directly  accountable  to  him  for  his 
acts  as  a  public  official. 

The  momentous  importance  of  discarding  the  del 
egate  system  and  securing  the  personal  responsibil 
ity  of  the  official  to  the  citizen  is  rapidly  coming  to 
be  accepted  through  the  country.  Already  legisla 
tion  recognizing  the  principle  of  nominating  by  di 
rect  vote  of  the  people  has  been  applied  in  making 
nominations  in  a  dozen  different  states,  while  the 
legislatures  of  twenty-two  others  have  taken  hold 
of  the  subject  in  an  earnest  way  within  the  last  two 
years.  The  demand  for  direct  nominations  was 
recognized  in  the  platforms  of  both  political  parties 
in  several  states  in  the  recent  campaign,  and  the 
progressive  movement  is  commanding  strong  sup 
port  throughout  the  country. 

Will  of  the  People 

To  secure  a  more  direct  expression  of  the  will  of 
the  people  in  all  things  pertaining  to  the  people's 
government  is  the  dominating  thought  in  American 
politics  today.  The  citizen  will  no  longer  surrender 
to  delegate,  agent,  or  substitute,  any  political  con 
trol  Avhich  he  may  properly  exercise  for  himself. 


Primary  Elections  51 

lie  understands  that  in  some  matters  pertaining  to 
government  he  must  be  represented  by  a  public 
servant.  The  citizen  is  resolved  to  participate  di 
rectly  wherever  he  can,  and  in  all  matters  where  he 
must  be  represented  by  another,  to  bring  that  rep 
resentative  as  near  to  him  as  possible.  The  funda 
mental  principle  upon  which  this  government  was 
established  can  no  longer  be  subverted.  No  more 
striking  manifestation  of  this  could  be  found  than 
in  the  current  volume  of  the  Congressional  Record. 
For  the  first  time  in  history  the  house  of  representa 
tives  passed,  without  one  dissenting  vote,  and  sent 
to  the  senate  a  resolution  for  the  election  of  United 
States  senators  by  direct  vote.  The'  spirit  of  de 
mocracy  is  abroad  in  the  land.  Government  is  to 
be  brought  back  to  the  people. 

The  nomination  of  all  candidates  by  direct  vote 
under  the  Australian  ballot  should  appeal  to  the 
patriotism  of  all  legislators  and  lift  them  above 
partisan  and  personal  prejudice,  in  a  united  effort 
to  give  the  people  of  Wisconsin  a  system  of  electing 
public  officials  truly  representative  of  public  inter 
ests  :  in  restoring  to  the  people  in  full  measure  this 
principle  of  pure  democratic  government.  This  is 
required  particularly  of  republicans  by  every  obliga 
tion  which  can  be  made  binding  upon  the  honor  of 
the  representatives  of  any  political  party  in  the 
public  service. 

The  party  itself  will  not  fail.  Men  in  masses  are 
not  drawn  together  in  support  of  principles  which 
endure  the  strain  of  protracted  contest  without  fixed 
convictions.  The  party  is  the  aggregation  of  citi 
zens  bound  together  by  an  agreement  of  opinion 


52  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

respecting  the  declared  principles  of  the  party. 
They  are  for  maintaining  the  principles  and  keeping 
faith  with  one  another.  Fixed  convictions  are  the 
foundations  of  good  faith.  The  party  honor  is  safe 
with  the  party.  It  will  not  betray  itself. 

But  the  party  must  select  men  as  its  medium  of 
expression  in  government  from  the  members  of  its 
organization  and  make  them  public  officials  to  exe 
cute  the  will  of  the  majority.  Upon  the  public  of 
ficial  then  there  falls  the  full  weight  of  this  double 
obligation.  He  represents  the  individual  citizen  in 
person.  He  is  the  custodian  of  the  party  honor.  He 
cannot  play  fast  and  loose  with  clearly  understood 
personal  and  party  obligations  and  maintain  a  sem 
blance  of  official  integrity.  He  has  no  more  moral 
right  to  quibble  and  evade,  to  say  that  he  will  per 
form  a  part  and  repudiate  some  of  the  specific  prom 
ises  of  the  party,  than  he  would  have  to  use  in  part 
trust  funds  committed  to  his  keeping.  If  this  be 
counted  too  exact  a  standard  of  public  duty  today, 
be  sure  that  it  will  not  be  so  regarded  tomorrow. 
The  citizen  is  being  rapidly  schooled  by  experience 
throughout  the  entire  country,  and  is  fast  acquiring 
definite  ideas  of  the  right  relation  of  the^political 
party  to  government,  of  the  citizen  to  his  political 
party,  and  the  duty  of  the  public  official  to  the  citi 
zen,  to  his  party,  and  to  the  State. 

Message  to  Legislature,   1903. 


Ill 

POLITICAL    MACHINE    AND    THE    BOSSES 


Legitimate   Organization  and   Machine   Contrasted 

O  enlist  the  interest  of  every  individual, 
encourage  research,  stimulate  discus 
sion  of  measures  and  of  men,  prior  to 
the  time  when  the  voter  should  dis 
charge  this  primary  duty  of  citizenship, 
offers  political  organization  opportunity  for  the 
highest  public  service.  Teaching  the  principles  of 
the  party,  reviewing  political  history,  discussing 
pending  and  proposed  legislation,  investigating  the 
fitness  of  candidates  for  office,  quickening  the  sense 
of  obligation  and  personal  responsibility  in  all  the 
duties  of  citizenship,  commanding  the  continuous, 
intelligent,  personal  interest  of  the  individual  voter 
— and  when  the  campaign  is  on,  conducting  the 
canvass — these  are  the  legitimate  functions  of  po 
litical  organization. 

Such  organizations  cannot  be  used  as  political 
machines  for  individuals  or  factions.  Whenever 
such  organizations  are  maintained  political  slates 
are  shattered  and  political  bargain's  fail  of  consum 
mation.  Cliques,  rings,  machines,  thrive  upon  the 
citizen's  indifference  to  the  plain  duties  of  repre 
sentative  government. 

There  is  no  likeness  or  similitude  between  a  poli 
tical  organization  that  appeals  to  every  voter  in  the 


54  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

party  and  a  machine  that  appeals  only  to  the  most 
skilled  and  unscrupulous  workers  of  the  party. 

This  is  the  modern  political  machine.  It  is  im 
personal,  irresponsible,  extra  legal.  The  courts  of 
fer  no  redress  for  the  rights  it  violates,  the  wrongs 
it  inflicts.  It  is  without  conscience  and  without  re 
morse.  It  has  come  to  be  enthroned  in  American 
politics.  It  rules  caucuses,  names  delegates,  ap 
points  committees,  dominates  the  councils  of  the 
party,  dictates  nominations,  makes  platforms,  dis 
penses  patronage,  directs  state  administrations,  con 
trols  legislatures,  stifles  opposition,  punishes  inde 
pendence  and  elects  United  States  senators.  In  the 
states  where  it  is  supreme,  the  edict  of  the  machine 
is  the  only  sound  heard,  and  outside  is  easily  mis 
taken  for  the  voice  of  the  people.  If  some  particular 
platform  pledge  is  necessary  to  the  triumph  of  the 
hour,  the  platform  is  so  written  and  the  pledge 
violated  without  offering  excuse  or  justification. 
If  public  opinion  be  roused  to  indignant  protest, 
some  scapegoat  is  put  forward  to  suffer  vicariously 
for  the  sins  of  the  machine,  and  subsequently  re 
warded  for  his  service  by  the  emoluments  of  ma 
chine  spoils.  If  popular  revolt  against  the  machine 
s\veeps  over  the  state  on  rare  occasions  and  the 
machine  finds  itself  hard  pressed  to  maintain  its 
hold  on  party  organization,  control  conventions  and 
nominate  its  candidates — when  threats  and  promises 
fail — the  "barrel"  is  not  wanting  and  the  way  is 
cleared. 

It  is  independent  of  the  people,  and  fears  no  reck 
oning.  In  extreme  cases  where  it  becomes  necessary 
to  meet  arraignment  it  has  its  own  press  to  parry 


The  Machine  and  the  Bosses  55 

or  soften  the  blow.  Having  no  constituency  to 
serve,  it  serves  itself.  The  machine  is  its  own 
master.  It  owes  no  obligation  and  acknowledges 
no  responsibility. 

Its  legislatures  make  the  laws  by  its  schedule. 
It  names  their  committees.  It  suppresses  bills  in 
imical  to  its  interests,  behind  the  closed  doors  of 
its  committee  rooms.  It  suppresses  debate  by  ma 
chine  rule  and  the  ready  gavel  of  a  pliant  speaker. 
It  exploits  measures  with  reform  titles,  designed 
to  perpetuate  machine  control.  It  cares  for  special 
interests  and  takes  tribute  from  its  willing  subjects, 
the  private  corporations.  There  was  a  time  when 
the  corporation  lobbyist  was  an  important  function 
ary,  and  the  mercenary  legislator  a  factor  with 
whom  it  was  necessary  to  make  terms.  The  per 
fect  political  machine  is  fast  superseding  the  lobby 
ist.  The  corporation  now  makes  terms  direct  with 
the  machine  and  the  lobbyist  now  attends  upon  the 
legislature  to  look  after  details  and  spy  upon  the 
action  of  members. 

It  is  as  much  the  interest  and  as  plainly  the  duty 
of  the  state,  to  as  carefully  perfect  and  guard  a 
system  of  nominating  candidates  as  it  perfects  and 
guards  the  system  of  electing  them. 

The  reformation  effected  in  our  elections  by  the 
Australian  voting  system  should  inspire  us  with 
confidence  in  advancing  the  lines  of  attack.  Recall 
for  one  moment  the  change  wrought  wherever  the 
Australian  system  has  been  adopted.  Formerly  the 
polling  place  was  the  scene  of  wrangling,  dispute, 
disorder,  often  of  violence  and  collision ;  weak  men 
were  badgered,  corrupt  men  were  bought.  The 


56  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

employer  often  followed  his  men  to  the  ballot  box, 
voting  them  in  a  body,  and  the  political  boss  was 
always  present.  Today  the  voter,  freed  from  all 
annoyances,  all  espionage,  all  intimidation,  goes 
alone  into  the  quiet  of  the  election  booth  and  exer 
cises  his  right  without  fear  of  punishment  or  hope 
of  reward,  other  than  his  own  conscience  affords 
and  the  general  good  secures.  Here  rich  and  poor, 
employer  and  employed,  meet  on  the  same  level. 
That  which  had  become  mere  theory  under  the  old 
plan  of  voting  is  transformed  into  an  assured  fact 
under  the  ne\v,  and  the  state  maintains  in  this  place 
the  equality  of  its  citizens  before  the  law. 

Is  there  any  good  reason  why  a  plan  so  success 
ful  in  securing  a  free,  honest  ballot  and  fair  count 
in  the  election,  will  not  work  equally  well  in  the 
nomination  of  candidates? 

Then  every  citizen  will  share  equally  in  the  nom 
ination  of  the  candidates  of  his  party  and  attend 
primary  elections,  as  a  privilege  as  well  as  a  duty. 
It  will  no  longer  be  necessary  to  create  an  artificial 
interest  in  the  general  election  to  induce  voters  to 
attend.  Intelligent,  well-considered  judgment  will 
be  substituted  for  unthinking  enthusiasm,  the  lamp 
of  reason  for  the  torchlight.  The  voter  will  not 
require  to  be  persuaded  that  he  has  an  interest  in 
the  election.  He  will  know  that  the  nominations 
of  the  party  will  not  be  the  result  of  "compromise," 
or  impulse  or  vile  design — the  "barrel"  and  the 
machine — but  the  candidates  of  the  majority  hon 
estly  and  fairly  nominated. 

To  every  generation  some  important  work  is 
committed.  If  this  generation  will  destroy  the  po- 


The  Machine  and  the  Bosses  57 

litical  machine,  will  emancipate  the  majority  from 
its   enslavement,   will   again   place   the   destinies  of 
this  nation  in  the  hands  of  its  citizens,  then,  "Under 
God,   this   government   of   the   people,   by   the   people 
and  for  the  people  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 
Address,  ''Menace  of  the  Machine," 
Chicago  University,  February  22,  1897. 

Iniquity  of  Secret  Caucus 

Mr.  President,  if  the  senate  shall  determine  to 
make  the  precedent  which  the  senator  from  New 
York  seeks  to  raise  here,  it  may  take  notice  now 
that  such  a  precedent  will  return  many  times  to 
plague  it  hereafter. 

I  do  not  recognize,  sir,  the  right  of  any  senator 
here,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  make  against  me  the 
criticism  that  I  am  voting  against  my  party  because 
that  vote  is  against  the  action  of  members  of  this 
senate  regarding  the  public  business  in  a  secret 
meeting  held  in  some  place  outside  this  chamber. 
I  deny  the  right  of  any  secret  caucus  held  outside 
ol  the  senate  chamber  behind  closed  doors,  with  no 
reporters  present,  to  dispose  of  the  public  business 
or  anything  which  may  exercise  an  important  or 
controlling  influence  upon  the  public  business. 

I  regard  the  election  of  a  president  pro  tempore 
of  this  great  body  as  of  great  importance  in  the  con 
duct  of  its  business.  It  is  of  tremendous  importance 
at  times,  Mr.  President,  in  determining  \vhat  meas 
ures  shall  pass  this  body.  I  do  not  propose  to  be 
read  out  of  the  republican  party  because  I  cannot 
conscientiously  support  some  man  whom  a  number 


58  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

of  my  party  associates  have  agreed  upon  in  a  secret 
meeting  as  their  choice  for  president  pro  tempore  of 
the  senate. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  1911. 

Platform  Pledges  Sacred 

Platform  pledges  express  the  convictions  of  the 
party  and  are  the  inducements  offered  by  the  party 
for  the  votes  of  the  people.  They  are  the  party's 
promise  to  do  specific  things.  They  are  the  voter's 
guide  in  determining  with  what  party  he  will  affili 
ate.  They  constitute  a  written  contract  deliberately 
entered  into  with  every  man  who  casts  his  vote  for 
the  candidate  of  his  party.  Neither  the  party  nor 
the  official  representative  of  the  party  can  with 
honor  change  or  repudiate  that  contract.  The 
candidate  who  is  unwilling  to  be  bound  by  the  plat 
form  of  the  party  has  no  moral  or  political  right  to 
accept  a  party  nomination.  If  having  accepted  a 
nomination  he  finds  that  he  is  not  in  accord  with 
the  pledges  of  his  party,  if  he  cannot  carry  out  its 
promises  as  an  official,  if  he  decides  to  be  independ 
ent  of  platform  obligation,  he  is  then  in  honor  bound 
so  to  announce,  at  once  to  withdraw  as  a  party 
candidate  and  stand,  if  at  all,  upon  his  individual 
declaration  as  a  candidate  for  office  independent  of 
party  support. 

These  propositions  require  no  argument.     They 
are  the  unwritten  but  unchangeable  law  of  political 
ethics.     They  enforce  themselves  between  the  can 
didate  and  the  party,  the  official  and  the  public. 
Acceptance  of  Nomination  for  Governor,  1902. 


The  Machine  and  the  Bosses  59 

The  Machine  Politician 

The  psychology  of  a  certain  type  of  machine  poli 
tician  is  a  most  interesting  study.  It  is  characteris 
tic  of  him  to  win  if  possible,  but  to  appear  to  win 
in  any  event.  He  has  a  quick,  almost  prophetic 
eye  for  the  loaded  wagon.  He  has  one  rule :  beat 
the  opposition  man,  but  if  he  cannot  be  beaten,  sup 
port  him.  Claim  credit  for  his  victory,  and  at  all 
hazards,  keep  in  with  the  successful  candidate.  He 
believes  that  if  he  cannot  get  what  he  wants  for 
himself  by  opposing  a  candidate,  he  may  possibly 
succeed  in  getting  what  he  wants  by  supporting 
him. 

Never  in  my  political  life  have  I  derived  benefit 
from  the  two  sources  of  power  by  which  machine 
politics  chiefly  thrives — I  mean  patronage,  the  con 
trol  of  appointments  to  office,  and  the  use  of  large 
sums  of  money  in  organization. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

Honesty  in  Politics 

The  politician  cannot  exist  without  absolute,  un 
yielding,  uncompromising  honesty.  The  same  high 
regard  for  right  conduct  which  earns  confidence  in 
business  and  professional  life  commands  like  trib 
ute  in  politics.  There  is  no  call  to  party  or  public 
service  where  it  is  wanting;  there  is  no  continued 
success  where  it  is  not  held  and  cherished. 

The  politician  and  the  statesman  stand,  the  rep 
resentative  of  this  principle  or  that  party,  only  so 
long  as  he  stands  erect  in  honor.  One  deviation, 
one  relaxation,  one  bending  of  principle,  and  he 


60  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

falls,  and  falls  forever.  Nay,  woe  to  him  though  he 
yield  only  to  weakness,  evincing  the  slightest  want 
of  moral  discrimination !  Under  the  scorching 
breath  of  public  suspicion,  a  shining  record  of  honor 
and  integrity  withers  to  dust  and  ashes.  There  is 
no  escape,  no  appeal.  His  office  is  either  a  sacred 
trust  or  the  poisoned  shaft  of  Nesus.  Vain  the 
defense  of  personal  friends,  vain  the  previous  clean 
public  life !  Hunted  from  his  high  place  by  a  be 
trayed  people,  retribution  soon  closes  his  career 
and  gives  his  name  to  the  ensuing  generation  ab 
horred.  No !  No !  politician  or  statesman,  more 
than  any  other  man,  must  he  ever  bend  a  "vaulting 
ambition"  to  meet  the  last  exaction  of  the  moral 
law. 

Speech,  House  of  Representatives, 

March  25,  1886. 


IV 
TAXATION 

Complete  Valuation  Essential 

RECOMMEND  that  you  so  legislate 
as  to  require  the  commission  not  only 
to  have  a  general  supervision  of  the 
system  of  taxation,  but  to  take  such 
measures  as  will  enforce  the  provisions 
ol  law,  that  all  property  be  placed  on  the  assess 
ment  roll  at  the  actual  cash  value ;  that  it  be  re 
quired  to  institute  proper  proceedings  enforcing 
penalties  provided  for  public  officers  whose  duties 
pertain  to  the  assessment  and  collection  of  taxes, 
and  against  individuals  and  the  officers  of  corpora 
tions  failing  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the 
law  with  respect  to  the  disclosure  of  property  for 
assessment ;  to  prefer  charges  for  the  removal  from 
office  of  any  assessor  who  has  violated  the  law  re 
specting  assessment,  and.  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
same,  authorize  the  commissioner  to  call  upon  the  at 
torney  general  or  any  district  attorney  of  the  state 
to  prosecute  any  violation  of  the  law  respecting  the 
assessment  and  collection  of  taxes ;  to  visit,  through 
some  members  of  the  commission,  each  county  in 
the  state,  personally,  and  investigate  the  work  of 
assessors,  with  authority  to  summon  the  assessors 
of.  the  county  to  appear  before  such  commission,  or 
any  member  thereof,  and  to  submit  to  examination 
respecting  the  performance  of  their  duties  as  such 


62  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

assessors;  to  have  full  power  and  authority  to  take 
testimony  and  examine  individuals  and  officers  of 
corporations,  and  require  the  production  of  books 
and  papers;  and  where  the  offices  and  books  and 
papers  and  any  of  the  witnesses  are  located  outside 
the  state,  whenever  necessary,  to  be  empowered  to 
take  deposition  in  order  to  procure  such  informa 
tion  as  may  be  useful  either  in  enforcing  the  law  or 
in  enabling  the  commission  to  recommend  legisla 
tion  ;  to  examine  upon  their  own  motion,  or  upon 
the  information  of  any  individual,  into  any  com 
plaint  as  to  property  liable  to  taxation  that  has  not 
been  assessed,  or  has  been  improperly  assessed,  or 
to  take  such  proceedings  as  will  insure  its  assess 
ment  under  the  law,  whether  such  property  be 
owned  by  an  individual,  a  co-partnership  or  cor 
poration. 

Message  to  Legislature,  1901. 

Equal  Taxation  Fundamental 

Uniformity  of  valuation  lies  at  the  foundation  of 
equal  taxation  as  between  individuals  and  locali 
ties,  and  a  complete  listing  of  all  taxable  property 
is  not  less  essential. 

No  student  of  the  subject,  however,  is  unmindful 
of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  the  administration 
of  laws  to  secure  the  direct  taxation  of  all  intangi 
ble  property.  While  the  subject  is  not  a  new  one, 
thoroughgoing,  scientific  investigation  of  it  con 
joined  with  practical  test  has  still  a  wide  field  to 
explore. 

The  question  of  railway  taxation  is  a  practical 
one  and  it  is  expected  that  as  public  officials  we  will 


Taxation  63 

deal  with  it  in  a  practical  way.  As  men  of  exper 
ience,  some  of  you  men  experienced  in  legislation, 
you  will  understand,  as  the  public  likewise  under 
stands,  the  opposition  which  has  been  made  by  the 
railroad  companies  to  any  increase  in  their  taxes. 
It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  among  those 
who  have  encountered  the  railroad  lobby  that  this 
opposition  was  so  determined  as  to  announce  the  de 
clared  purpose  of  the  railway  companies  to  increase 
their  freight  rates  enough  to  offset  any  increase  in 
taxation.  The  ease  with  which  this  menace  might 
be  enforced  can  very  readily  be  seen.  An  increase 
in  the  fraction  of  a  per  cent,  in  freight  rates,  or  a 
slight  readjustment  of  the  classifications,  would 
enable  railroads  to  collect  from  their  patrons  in 
Wisconsin  more  than  enough  to  balance  any  in 
crease  in  their  taxes. 

Indeed,  since  legislation  has  been  pending  in  this 
state  to  require  railroads  to  pay  their  proportionate 
share  of  taxation,  freight  rates  for  Wisconsin  have 
been  increased,  indicating  a  forehanded  determina 
tion  to  be  prepared  against  legislation  to  equalize 
taxation. 

It  becomes  apparent  at  once  that  legislation  com 
pelling  the  railroads,  and  other  public-service  cor 
porations,  to  pay  their  proportionate  share  of  the 
taxes  will  fail  utterly  in  its  object  unless  it  be  sup 
plemented  with  legislation  protecting  the  public 
against  increased  transportation  charges. 

This  is  not  a  question  of  policy.  The  railroad 
companies  of  this  state  owe  the  state  more  than 
$1,000,000  a  year.  For  many  years,  because  of  the 
postponement  or  defeat  of  legislation  requiring  them 


64  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

to  pay  their  proportionate  share  of  the  taxes,  the 
other  taxpayers  of  Wisconsin  have  paid  for  them 
$1,000,000  annually.  The  case  has  been  tried;  the 
hearing  has  been  full.  Judgment  has  been  given 
again  and  again.  Pledges  have  been  made  by  po 
litical  parties  and  repeated  by  candidates  for  office, 
over  and  over  again.  The  question  is  not  an  open 
one.  There  is  no  opportunity  for  misunderstanding. 
There  is  no  room  for  speculation.  The  truth  is  as 
certained.  The  truth  is  known.  It  is  lodged  in  the 
public  mind  to  stay.  The  people  want  $1,000,000 
a  year  because  it  is  the  sum  owing.  They  are  not 
to  be  wheedled  by  any  soft  phrases  about  "conser 
vation."  There  is  nothing  to  compromise.  Equal 
and  just  taxation  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  re 
publican  government.  The  amount  due  as  taxes 
from  railroads  and  other  public-service  corporations 
should  be  paid,  and  paid  in  full,  and  I  am  confident 
that  legislation  to  secure  that  payment  will  be 
promptly  enacted. 

Message  to  Legislature,  1903. 

Dog  Tax   Discrimination 

I  return  herewith,  without  approval,  bill  No.  267, 
originating  in  the  assembly,  entitled,  "An  act  to 
provide  for  licensing  dogs  and  for  the  collection  of 
said  license." 

The  bill  proposes  to  exact  a  license  fee  of  from 
one  to  three  dollars  from  every  ow^ner  or  keeper  of 
a  dog.  Residents  of  cities  and  villages  can  escape 
payment  of  such  a  tax  by  ceasing  to  own  or  keep 
dogs.  Upon  the  farm,  however,  the  watch  dog  and 
shepherd  are  as  much  a  necessity  as  the  other  do- 


Taxation  65 

mestic  animals  which  they  protect  and  guard,  and 
the  license  fee  would  amount  to  an  increase  in  taxa 
tion.  The  fee  or  tax  proposed  may  not  be  esteemed 
by  the  legislature  a  serious  burden  in  itself,  but  it 
would  add  to  burdens  borne  by  a  great  majority  of 
the  people  which  are  already  out  of  all  proportion 
to  those  borne  by  others  whose  influence  would 
seem  to  be  more  potent  in.  shaping  legislation. 

For  many  years  there  has  been  a  well-settled  be 
lief  in  the  minds  -of  a  great  majority  of  people  of 
this  state  that  quasi-public  corporations  were  pay- 
ii'.g  less  than  a  fair  share  of  the  taxes  necessary  to 
maintain  government.  That  belief  was  fortified  by 
the  absolute  knowledge  that  certain  corporations 
were  not  taxed  at  all,  and  that  certain  other  corpo 
rations  were  paying  but  a  nominal  tax  in  the  form 
of  a  license  fee.  In  1898  this  belief  had  become  a 
conviction  in  the  public  mind  so  strong  that  it  found 
clear  and  emphatic  expression  in  each  of  the  plat 
forms  of  the  political  parties  of  this  state,  and  the 
legislature  of  1899  assembled  under  a  solemn  pledge 
to  equalize  the  burdens  of  taxation.  The  corpora 
tions  not  taxed  resisted  taxation  in  any  form.  The 
corporations  then  paying  taxes  in  the  form  of  license 
fees  opposed  any  increase.  It  is  a  matter  of  legis 
lative  history  that  after  the  enactment  of  the  ex 
press  company,  life  insurance  and  sleeping-car  leg 
islation,  and  after  passing  through  the  assembly  a 
bill  increasing  the  rate  of  the  license  fee  on  rail 
roads  from  four  to  five  per  centum  upon  their  gross 
earnings,  which  was  defeated  in  the  senate,  the  en 
tire  subject  was  committed  to  a  tax  commission 
created  by  a  bill  originating  in  the  senate.  That 


66  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

bill  was  passed  under  the  pretext  that  the  pressing 
work  of  legislative  sessions  prevented  members  and 
senators  from  giving  the  subject  that  thoroughness 
of  investigation  which  would  insure  fairness  to 
every  interest,  and  for  that  reason  the  people  of  this 
state  acquiesced  in  the  establishment  of  the  com 
mission  to  determine  the  rights  and  duties  of  all 
respecting  taxation.  Thus  this  question,  of  great 
and  pressing  interest  to  every  citizen,  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  able  gentlemen  comprising  the 
tax  commission  two  years  ago,  and  the  public  was 
required  to  wait  upon  their  decision.  The  disap 
pointment  incident  to  the  further  delay  was  borne 
with  patience  by  the  people,  upon  whom  fell  the 
added  burden  occasioned  by  the  creation  of  these 
new  offices.  They  assented,  however,  to  the  post 
ponement  which  this  plan  necessitated,  because,  and 
only  because,  they  were  assured  and  persuaded  to 
believe  that  the  report  of  the  tax  commission  would 
settle  the  disputed  question.  They  submitted  with 
out  a  murmur  to  the  increased  taxation  necessary 
to  pay  the  Commission  to  do  its  work,  believing 
that  those  who  offered  this  solution  of  the  contro 
versy  were  acting  in  good  faith.  They  had  been 
promised  equal  and  just  taxation  for  years,  and  had 
borne  repeated  disappointments  and  delays  in  the 
fulfillment  of  those  promises  with  great  fortitude. 
They  agreed  to  this  form  of  legislative  arbitration, 
confident  that  the  right  would  prevail  because  they 
demanded  nothing  more  than  just  and  equal  taxa 
tion  for  all.  They  were  led  to  believe  that  when  the 
disinterested  gentlemen  comprising  that  commis 
sion  determined  the  questions  and  made  their  rec- 


i  Taxation  67 

ommendations  to  the  legislature,  action  would  fol 
low  in  accordance  therewith. 

After  long  continued  arduous  labor  and  research, 
the  tax  commission  reported  to  this  legislature  that 
there  do  exist  gross  inequalities  in  the  tax  burden 
placed  upon  the  different  classes  of  property  in  this 
state,  and  they  made  clear  and  definite  recommen 
dations  for  a  better  equalization  of  these  burdens. 

The  proposition  of  the  tax  commission,  like  its 
statistics,  are  too  plain  and  simple  to  permit  mis 
understanding  or  doubt  in  intelligent  minds  which 
give  them  consideration.  They  cannot  be  obscured 
by  a  selfish  plea  that  property  which  can  be  reached 
by  the  tax  gatherers  should  be  allowed  to  escape  a 
part  of  its  just  share  of  the  cost  of  government,  at 
the  expense  of  property  now  paying  a  still  greater 
share,  until  that  very  uncertain  and  remote  time 
when  campaign  promises  and  legislative  procrasti 
nation  conjoined  will  result  in  bringing  hidden  and 
intangible  property  within  reach  of  the  tax  officers. 
Nor  is  it  probable  that  a  majority  of  the  people  of 
Wisconsin  can  be  satisfied  by  framing  appropria 
tion  bills  in  accord  with  the  theory  that  citizens 
will  bear  the  imposition  of  unjust  and  unequal  tax 
ation  so  long  as  the  increase  in  their  burden  is  made 
to  appear  to  be  due  to  the  betterment  and  support  of 
the  public  schools.  When  the  taxpayer  comes  to 
compute  profit  and  loss  it  cannot  change  the  result 
because  the  increase  in  his  taxes,  caused  by  neglect 
properly  to  tax  powerful  corporate  interests,  comes 
through  a  bill  making  increased  appropriations  for 
common  schools. 


68  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

The  tax  commission  has  formulated  and  presented 
to  you  bills  which  would  increase  the  state's  rev 
enues  from  railroad  companies,  street  railway  com 
panies  and  from  telephone  companies.  These  bills 
are  still  pending  before  the  legislature,  or  its  com 
mittees.  The  commission  has  presented  facts  and 
reasons  which  have  not  been-  discredited,  showing 
that  the  increases  proposed  in  these  several  bills 
would  impose  less  than  the  full  share  of  taxes  due 
from  such  companies  in  comparison  with  the  tax 
charges  imposed  upon  the  property  and  individuals 
carried  upon  the  tax  rolls  of  the  state. 

I  am  aware  that  members  of  the  legislature  are 
desirous  of  an  adjournment  of  this  session  at  the 
earliest  possible  day,  but  I  am  very  certain  that  the 
people  of  this  state  are  more  anxious  for  an  approx 
imately  equitable  distribution  of  the  tax  burden, 
even  if  the  session  should  be  protracted  thereby. 

For  the  reasons  herein  stated,  I  am  unwilling  to 
present  to  the  people  of  this  state,  in  lieu  of  the 
legislation  to  equalize  taxation  which  has  been 
promised  to  them,  and  which  they  have  a  right  to 
expect  from  representative  government,  a  scheme 
which,  in  a  general  way,  may  be  described  as  an 
act  to  relieve  the  farmer  or  city  home-owner  of  a 
small  measure  of  increased  tax  upon  his  realty  by 
imposing  a  license  fee  upon  his  dog. 

Veto  Message,  May  2,  190  r. 

Ad  Valorem  Tax   Most  Just 

The  license  fee  system  if  fairly  adjusted  as  be 
tween  railroads  and  other  taxable  property  of  the 
state  today  upon  an  agreed  percentage  would  fur- 


Taxation  69 

nish  no  assurance  of  a  fair  division  of  tax  burden  a 
year  hence.  Conditions  arise  from  time  to  time 
in  the  commonwealth  requiring'  an  increase  in  the 
rate  upon  taxable  property.  At  such  times  property 
taxed  under  the  ad  valorem  system  must  bear  all 
of  the  increased  burden,  while  the  percentage  upon 
which  the  license  fee  is  based  remains  the  same. 
No  valid  reason  can  be  assigned  why  railroad  prop 
erty,  remunerative  as  it  is,  its  value  increasing  with 
the  development  and  growth  of  the  state,  should 
not  bear  its  relative  proportion  of  whatever  befalls 
other  property  by  reason  of  increases  in  taxation  to 
meet  emergencies  and  exigencies  that  come  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  human  events. 

Legislative  appropriations  from  year  to  year  are 
increased  as  the  expansion  and  development  of  the 
state  create  .-proper  and  unanswerable  demands 
therefor.  Public  buildings  for  properly  housing  and 
caring-  for  the  state's  dependents,  its  criminal  classes, 
its  schools,  and  courts,  and  university,  must  be 
erected,  renewed  and  enlarged  repeatedly.  It  is 
but  just  that  railroad  property  should  bear  its  share 
of  such  appropriations. 

The  railroad  companies  under  the  license  fee 
system  have  no  interest  and  no  concern  respecting 
the  money  appropriated  by  the  legislature.  It  is  a 
fact  within  the  knowledge  of  every  legislator  of  ex 
perience  that  the  influence  of  the  railroad  lobby  is 
often  employed  to  pass  legislation  resulting  in  an 
increase  of  general  taxes  in  exchange  for  the  votes 
of  those  interested  in  such  appropriations  to  defeat 
other  legislation  obnoxious  to  the  railroads.  Doubt 
less  millions  of  dollars  have  been  unnecessarily  ex- 


70  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

pended  through  such  combinations.  This  could  not 
have  occurred  if  the  railroads  had  been  taxed  under 
the  ad  valorem  system  and  possessed  the  same  gen 
eral  interest  that  other  taxpayers  have  in  keeping 
appropriations  within  reasonable  limits. 

But  in  addition  to  all  of  the  other  objections  to 
the  license  fee  system,  when  it  is  remembered  that 
they  are  permitted  in  effect  to  fix  the  amount  of  the 
taxes  which  they  will  pay,  without  any  practical 
check  or  supervision  by  the  state,  no  excuse  or 
justification  can  be  given  for  continuing  a  plan  of 
taxation  so  unjust  to  other  taxpayers  of  the  state. 
Investigations  which  have  been  conducted  by  the 
interstate  commerce  commission  in  the  courts  leave 
no  room  to  doubt  that  millions  of  dollars  are  paid 
back  to  shippers  in  rebates  under  arrangements 
deemed  advantageous,  directly  and  indirectly,  to 
both  the  railroads  and  the  favored  shippers.  That 
these  rebates  in  Wisconsin  alone  amount  to  vast 
sums  of  money  annually  is  beyond  dispute.  Not 
one  dollar  of  this  sum  rebated  to  shippers,  and 
properly  a  part  of  the  gross  earnings  of  railroad 
companies,  is  reported  to  the  state.  That  a  valid 
claim  exists  against  the  railroad  companies  for  the 
amounts  so  withheld  from  their  reported  earnings, 
does  not  admit  of  question,  whatever  difficulties  lie 
in  the  way  of  making  proof  of  the  same.  I  do  not 
believe  that  you  will  fail  to  follow  the  recommenda 
tions  of  the  tax  commission  and  abandon  a  system 
of  taxation  so  obnoxious  to  every  principle  of  fair 
ness  to  those  who  must  maintain  government. 

Message  to  Legislature,  1903. 


Taxation  71 

Results  of  Ad  Valorem  Tax 

The  regulation  bill  did  not  pass  at  that  session, 
(1903)  nor  did  we  expect  it  to  pass.  But  the  con- 
tost  -accomplished  the  purposes  we  had  chiefly  in 
mind.  It  stirred  the  people  of  the  state  as  they  had 
never  been  stirred  before,  and  laid  the  foundations 
for  an  irresistible  campaign  in  1904.  It  also  gave  the 
lobby  so  much  to  do — as  we  had  anticipated — that 
it  could  not  spend  any  time  in  resisting  our  meas 
ures  for  railroad  taxation.  It  also  forced  some 
members  of  the  legislature  who  were  really  opposed 
to  us,  and  who  intended  to  vote  against  the  regula 
tion  bill,  to  vote  with  us  on  the  taxation  bill  as  a 
bid  for  the  favor  of  the  people  of  their  districts. 

So,  at  last,  after  all  these  years  of  struggle,  we 
wrote  our  railroad  tax  legislation  into  the  statutes 
of  Wisconsin.  As  an  immediate  result,  railroad 
taxes  were  increased  more  than  $600,000  annually. 
When  I  came  into  the  governor's  office,  on  Jan 
uary  i,  1901,  the  state  was  in  debt  $330,000  and  had 
only  $4,125  in  the  general  fund.  But  so  great  were 
the  receipts  from  our  new  corporation  taxes,  and 
from  certain  other  sources,  that  in  four  years'  time, 
on  January  i,  1905,  we  had  paid  off  all  our  indebt 
edness  and  had  in  the  general  fund  of  the  treasury 
$407,506.  We  had  so  much  on  hand,  indeed,  that 
we  found  it  unnecessary  to  raise  any  taxes  for  the 
succeeding  two  years. 

Autobiography,  1913. 


V 

RAILROAD    REGULATION    AND    GOVERN 
MENT  OWNERSHIP 


Railroad  Commission  a  Necessity 

HE  duty  which  confronts  this  legisla 
ture  respecting"  this  phase  of  railroad 
legislation  is  two-fold  :  First,  to  enact 
a  law  creating  a  state  railway  commis 
sion  with  full  authority  to  act  in  the 
premises,  and  second,  to  so  advise  the  representa 
tives  of  Wisconsin  in  the  United  States  senate  and 
house  of  representatives  by  memorial,  and  in  such 
other  ways  as  may  tend  to  impress  them  with  this 
importance,  that  the  business  interests  of  Wiscon 
sin  demand  that  the  oft-repeated  appeal  of  the  inter 
state  commerce  commission,  supported  as  it  has 
been  by  the  messages  of  the  president,  for  author 
ity  to  regulate  rates  and  prevent  discriminations' 
should  be  promptly  given  to  the  inter-state  com 
merce  commission. 

Upon  the  necessity  of  the  establishment  of  a 
commission  to  protect  the  shipping  interests  of 
Wisconsin,  there  would  seem  to  be  no  need  of  argu 
ment.  The  rates  in  themselves  make  the  demand 
stronger  than  any  form  of  words  can  express  it. 
It  must  come,  and  it  ought  to  be  the  care  of  those 
charged  with  the  responsibility  of  making  the  law, 
that  Wisconsin  should  not  be  compelled  to  travel 


Railroad  Control  73 

over  the  same  ground,  by  the  same  devious  and  cir 
cuitous  route  which  the  resisting  railroad  companies 
have  compelled  other  states  to  take.  We  should  in 
this,  as  in  all  other  matters,  secure  the  benefits  and 
advantages  accruing  from  the  ripe  experience  of 
other  states  and  step  out  abreast  of  those  enjoying 
benefits  derived  from  many  years  of  experience. 
And  if  in  any  respect  it  is  possible  for  us  to  improve 
upon  the  legislation  of  any  state  by  combining  the 
best  factors,  or  improving  upon  the  systems  of  all, 
it  is  our  duty  so  to  do. 

By  providing  that  the  commissioner  of  railroads 
elected  under  the  existing  laws  shall  be  a  member 
of  a  state  commission,  and  that  at  the  expiration  of 
his  present  term  of  office,  the  elective  member  of 
the  commission  shall  be  elected  for  a  term  of  six 
years,  and  by  further  providing  that  the  two  re 
maining  members  of  the  board  shall  be  appointive 
officers,  appointed  by  the  executive,  subject  to  con 
firmation  by  the  senate,  the  terms  of  the  two  ap 
pointed  commissioners  to  expire  in  two  and  four 
years  respectively,  and  thereafter  that  their  suc 
cessors  shall  be  appointed  for  terms  of  six  years 
each,  would  give  to  the  state  a  commission  to  fix 
rates,  combining  the  elective  and  appointive  fea 
tures,  in  support  of  which  the  strongest  reasons  can 
be  urged. 

It  would  scarcely  be  possible  for  the  law-making 
power  of  the  state  under  a  representative  form  of 
government  to  be  more  strongly  obligated  than  is 
the  law-making  power  of  Wisconsin  to  write  upon 
the  statute  books  at  this  session  of  the  legislature 
the  necessary  laws  to  secure  the  payment  of  taxes 


74  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

in  full  due  from  the  railroad  corporations  to  this 
state.  The  railroad  companies  have  by  their  own 
opposition  made  legislation  for  the  establishment  of 
a  commission  to  regulate  transportation  rates  a  nec 
essary  concomitant  of  tax  legislation,  and  added  to 
this,  investigation  of  existing  transportation  charges 
in  Wisconsin  has  disclosed  conditions  making  the 
appointment  of  a  commission  to  regulate  railroad 
rates  an  imperative  necessity  in  the  interests  of 
the  whole  commonwealth.  That  these  conditions 
have  existed,  as  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  they  have, 
throughout  many  years  but  strengthens  and  makes 
more  irresistible  the  demands  for  prompt  action  in 
accordance  writh  the  dictates  of  absolute  justice 
and  fair  dealing  as  between  these  corporations  and 
the  people.  It  is  not  a  case  where  some  fatwitted 
genius  may  find  a  happy  medium.  It  stands  side 
by  side  with  the  people's  cause  for  equal  and  just 
taxation,  out  in  the  open,  clear  as  the  sun  at  noon 
day. 

Justice  Must  Apply  to  All  Alike 

For  many  years  with  each  recurring  legislative 
session  it  has  been  the  comforting  assurance  con 
veyed  to  the  people  of  this  commonwealth  that  the 
relations  existing  between  the  people  and  the  rail 
roads  were  "pleasant"  and  "harmonious."  It  would 
indeed  have  been  cause  for  congratulation  had  it 
been  a  fact  that  those  relations  were  grounded  upon 
conditions  that  were  just  to  the  people  and  the 
railroads  alike.  But  if  the  people  of  Wisconsin  are 
to  pay  a  million  dollars  of  railroad  taxes  annually 
in  order  to  maintain  pleasant  relations  with  these 


Railroad  Control  75 

companies,  and  if  they  are  also  to  pay  many  mil 
lions  of  dollars  a  year  in  transportation  charges 
more  than  other  States  pay  for  like  service  for  the 
continuation  of  harmonious  conditions  agreeable  to 
the  railways,  then  it  is  high  time  that  the  people 
of  Wisconsin  see  to  it  that  instead  of  "pleasant" 
and  "harmonious"  relations  of  that  character,  there 
should  be  established  sound  business  relations  based 
upon  business  principles  of  exact  justice  to  public- 
service  corporations  and  the  citizens  as  well. 

We  know  from  the  experience  in  other  states,  we 
have  learned  the  lesson  in  a  way  to  remember  here 
in  Wisconsin,  that  these  measures  cannot  be  se 
cured  without  encountering  the  most  vigorous  op 
position  from  the  railroad  interests.  It  may  be  quite 
a?  well  for  us  to  be  admonished  at  this  time  that 
opposition  to  the  establishment  of  a  commission  to 
regulate  transportation  rates  will  not  be  limited  to 
the  corporation  and  their  lobby  agents  before  the 
legislature.  They  will  be  able  to  summon  to  their 
support  every  shipper  in  Wisconsin  who  is,  or  who 
thinks  he  is,  at  this  time  receiving  some  special 
favor  or  concession  from  the  railroads,  or  who  has, 
or  thinks  he  has,  assurance  wrhich  wrill  give  him  ex 
ceptional  rates  and  advantages  over  his  rivals  and 
competitors  in  business  for  the  future.  The  ship 
pers  will  be  able  through  organized  effort  to  make 
their  influence  felt  as  a  commanding  one,  but  it  is 
well  for  us  to  remember  that  wre  stand  here  repre 
senting  the  interests  of  all  the  people  of  Wiscon 
sin,  the  thousands  of  merchants  and  manufacturers 
who  are  not  receiving  special  rates  and  concessions, 
and  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  producers  and 


76  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

small  shippers  who  are  being  grossly  wronged  in 
the  millions  of  dollars  exacted  from  them  in  exces 
sive  and  exorbitant  transportation  charges,  year 
after  year. 

They  are  entitled  to  an  equal  chance  with  the 
merchants  and  manufacturers  and  farmers  of  ad 
joining  States.  I  submit  that  it  is  our  duty  to  se 
cure  this  for  them  and  to  secure  it  now. 

Message  to  Legislature,  1903. 

Granger   Legislation   and   Railway   Regulation 

The  Potter  law  was  repealed  in  the  early  part 
of  1876,  after  having  been  in  force  less  than  two 
years.  The  reasons  for  this  are  not  far  to  seek. 
The  law,  as  explained,  was  the  subject  of  con 
stant  attack.  It  was  lied  about  early  and  late. 
Newspapers  were  more  influential  then  than  they 
are  now  in  Wisconsin.  In  consequence  of  the 
constant  assaults  upon  the  law,  many  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  really  bad.  They  reasoned 
that  where  there  was  so  much  smoke,  ther  must  be 
some  fire.  Some  reaction  always  follows  every  suc 
cessful  achievement,  and  the  railroads  relied  upon 
the  usual  abatement  of  interest.  The  public  having 
seen  to  it  that  the  laws  were  placed  upon  the  stat 
ute  books,  felt  that  its  responsibility  had  been  dis 
charged,  and  in  security  turned  its  attention  to  pri 
vate  affairs.  With  the  people  generally,  the  ques 
tion  was  taken  to  be  settled.  Furthermore,  as  the 
railroads  were  not  observing  the  law,  many  of  the 
worst  abuses  continued.  This  also  had  its  effect, 
and  caused  disappointment  on  the  part  of  many  who 
had  otherwise  been  hearty  supporters  of  the  prin- 


Railroad  Control  77 

ciple.  The  railroads  took  advantage  of  this  situa 
tion,  and  in  the  preceding  election,  with  men  active 
in  every  assembly  and  senatorial  district  they  were 
able  to  elect  members  who  favored  the  repeal  of  the 
statute.  Accordingly,  the  present  commissioner 
system  was  substituted  for  the  Potter  law. 

The  repeal  of  the  Potter  law  is  now  generally  re 
garded  as  a  mistake  by  the  best  modern  writers  on 
the  railway  problem.  It  has  at  last  dawned  upon 
them  and  others  that  the  law  was  just,  and  that, 
above  all,  it  was  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  It 
did  not  do  away  with  discriminations.  But  this  was 
because  the  roads  declined  to  observe  the  law,  and 
because  adequate  machinery  for  its  enforcement  had 
not  been  provided.  The  practice  of  discriminations 
against  both  persons  and  places  had  already  become 
so  firmly  rooted  in  the  policy  of  the  roads,  that 
nothing  but  the  most  vigorous  sort  of  enforcement 
by  the  best  men,  and  the  most  stringent  of  laws 
could  have  abolished  it.  To  expect  that  this  power, 
so  dear  to  the  officers  of  the  roads,  could  be  taken 
from  them  by  simply  making  it  illegal,  was  irra 
tional.  More  than  this  is  required.  Discrimination 
will  never  be  abolished  until  the  state  takes  com 
plete  control  of  the  rate-making  power. 

But  even  if  the  Potter  law  did  not  accomplish  all 
that  was  expected  of  it,  it  taught  railway  managers 
many  useful  lessons.  They  learned  for  the  first 
time  that  there  was  a  higher  authority.  This  law* 
also  brought  the  question  before  the  courts,  and  by 
the  decisions  that  followed,  all  doubt  was  forever 
removed  as  to  the  authority  of  the  state  to  fix  rates 
and  exercise  control  over  the  railroads.  This  alone 


78  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

was  probably  worth  many  times  more  to  the  people 
than  the  cost  of  the  movement. 

A  law  such  as  that  adopted  at  the  last  session  of 
the  legislature,  providing  for  assessing  the  prop 
erty  of  railroads  in  Wisconsin  at  full  value,  and 
taxing  them  upon  that  value  at  the  same  rate  which 
other  taxable  property  in  the  state  bears,  and  thus 
compelling  them  to  pay  from  ten  to  twelve  hundred 
thousand  dollars  additional  taxes,  would  be  of  little 
value  to  the  state  if  the  railroad  companies  are  at 
liberty  to  add  enough  to  the  freight  rates  paid  by 
the  people  of  Wisconsin  to  compensate  them  for 
the  ten  or  twelve  hundred  thousand  of  dollars  of 
additional  taxes.  That  they  could  readily  increase 
the  freight  charges  upon  the  producers  and  con 
sumers  of  Wisconsin  without  let  or  hindrance  under 
existing  law,  no  man  will  for  one  moment  dispute. 
That  this  would  be  the  course  which  they  would 
pursue,  if  not  prevented  by  additional  legislation, 
was  openly  threatened  by  their  lobbyists  during 
the  legislative  session  of  1901. 

Railroads  Fight  Freight  Reductions 

Therefore  the  people  of  this  state  must  either 
tamely  submit,  and  allow  the  railroad  companies  to 
go  untaxed  to  the  amount  of  a  million  or  more  an 
nually,  or  provide  against  their  regulating  freight 
charges  within  this  state  at  their  pleasure,  regard 
less  of  public  interest  and  public  justice. 

That  for  several  years,  and  until  very  recently, 
freight  rates  have  been  gradually  advanced  in  this 
state,  every  student  of  the  subject  well  knows. 
That  it  was  the  fixed  intention  of  the  railroad  of- 


Railroad  Control  79 

ficials  controlling  traffic  rates  in  this  state  to  make 
advances  until  less  than  a  year  ago,  there  is  un 
mistakable  proof.  When  submitting  their  bids  to 
the  state  board  of  control  for  furnishing  coal  to  the 
state  institutions  of  Wisconsin  less  than  a  year  ago, 
coal  dealers  were  warned  directly  from  the  railroad 
offices  to  submit  their  bids  conditioned  upon  an  in 
crease,  in  freight  charges.  And  the  bids  were  sub 
mitted  subject  to  variation  \vith  reference  to  freight 
charges.  This  was  the  first  time  that  such  an  inti 
mation  had  been  received  by  the  coal  dealers  bid 
ding  for  state  business,  and  the  first  time  that  such 
bids  were  ever  made  in  that  form. 

The  attention  of  the  legislature  was  directed  to 
that  fact  by  special  message,  which  I  submitted,  and 
the  recommendation  was  made  that  if  no  law  could 
be  passed  creating  a  railway  commission  with  au 
thority  to  reduce  rates  generally  in  Wisconsin  to 
a  reasonable  basis,  at  least  the  legislature  ought,  in 
fairness  to  the  people  and  to  protect  them  against 
increased  transportation  charges  as  an  offset  by  the 
railroads  against  increased  taxation  of  their  prop 
erty,  to  pass  a  law  prohibiting  the  possibility  of 
such  advance  being  made. 

The  attorneys  and  lobbyists  of  these  railroads  had 
previously  placed  themselves  on  record  before  that 
same  legislature,  while  opposing  the  establishment 
of  a  commission  to  reduce  transportation  charges, 
as  being  satisfied  with  existing  rates.  They  further 
protested  before  legislative  committees  that  no  ad 
vance  was  contemplated  in  Wisconsin.  It  neverthe 
less  is  true  that  immediately  following  the  presenta 
tion  of  the  message  recommending  a  law  prohibit- 


8o  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

ing  any  increase  in  freight  charges,  there  was,  with 
in  twenty-four  hours,  sent  from  the  general  freight 
departments  in  Chicago  of  the  principal  railroads 
in  Wisconsin,  telegrams  to  their  agents  along  their 
lines  in  this  state  directing  them  to  cause  local 
merchants  and  shippers  to  sign  telegrams  addressed 
to  their  assemblymen  to  vote  down  the  measure 
recommended  by  the  governor. 

Publicity  Spoils  Sinister  Game 

If  they  contemplated  no  increase  in  transporta 
tion  charges  why,  then,  did  they  warn  the  coal  deal 
ers  bidding  for  the  large  coal  business  of  the  state? 
Why,  then,  did  their  attorneys  and  lobbyists  oppose 
the  passage  of  a  bill  that"  merely  would  have  pre 
vented  such  an  increase?  Why,  then,  did  they 
summon  all  of  their  station  agents  in  this  state  to 
cause  the  local  merchants  and  shippers  at  each  sta 
tion  to  flood  the  legislature  with  telegrams  protest 
ing  against  the  measure  designed  to  save  those 
shippers  and  merchants  from  paying  increased 
freight  charges? 

Aye,  but,  says  the  leading  organ  of  the  corpora 
tions  of  this  state,  with  all  the  croaking  from  the 
executive  office,  warning  the  people  that  their  trans 
portation  charges  would  be  increased,  no  increases 
have  been  made  and  nearly  a  year  has  gone  by. 

I  answer  that  it  would  have  been  strange,  indeed, 
after  their  plans  had  been  exposed,  after  their  secret 
warnings  to  their  shippers  have  been  made  the  sub 
ject  of  executive  message,  after  the  telegrams  which 
they  had  sent  to  their  station  agents  throughout 
Wisconsin  had  leaked  out  and  been  printed  in  full, 


Railroad  Control  81 

after  every  citizen  of  the  state  had  been  warned 
and  made  vigilant  and  every  shipper  was  alert  for 
the  advances,  with  another  legislative  session  ap 
proaching  and  the  question  still  pending,  it  would 
have  been  strange  indeed  if  the  managers  of  these 
interests  should  have  taken  the  chance  of  being 
detected  in  sliding  up  the  scale  of  rates  in  Wiscon 
sin. 

In  fact,  there  are  some  evidences  of  these  corpora 
tions  being  temporarily  on  their  good  behavior,  and  of 
their  bearing  just  at  this  opportune  time  fruits  meet 
for  repentance.  But,  as  will  appear,  I  think,  upon  in 
vestigation  and  reflection,  there  is  likewise  special 
reason  for  this,  and  small  hope  to  believe  that  the 
fruitage  will  be  either  a  large  or  a  steady  crop. 

I  am  persuaded  to  believe  that  \vith  the  informa 
tion  already  before  the  people  of  this  state  upon  the 
subject  bearing  on  the  control  of  railway  transpor 
tation  ;  with  the  clear  knowledge  they  now  have  of 
the  injustice  which  they  have  suffered  for  many 
years  in  the  matter  of  railway  taxation  ;  remember 
ing  that  these  corporations  away  back  in  1899  pub 
licly  promised  before  the  legislature  that  if  a  bill 
to  investigate  the  subject  by  a  commission  were 
passed  instead  of  the  bill  to  increase  their  taxes, 
they  would  pay  promptly  whatever  was  found  to  be 
due  upon  the  report  of  that  commission ;  with  the 
memory  of  their  obstruction,  delay,  and  defeat  of 
taxation  measures  based  upon  and  designed  to 
carry  out  the  recommendations  of  that  commission, 
which  they  asked  to  have  created  at  public  expense, 
fresh  in  the  public  mind ;  with  the  assurance  made 
doubly  certain  by  their  past  record,  that  they  will 


82  La  Follette's  Political  Philoscpl  y 

contest  the  assessment  which  the  tax  commission 
is  now  engaged  in  making  and  carry  it  to  the  su 
preme  court  for  its  decision ; — I  say,  knowing  all 
these  things,  I  do  not  believe  that  the  people  of 
Wisconsin  will  be  misled  or  befooled  by  any  plea, 
however,  specious  or  plausible  or  conciliatory,  com 
ing  from  those  whose  record  marks  them  as  hostile 
to  the  interests  of  the  taxpayers  of  this  state. 

If  the  work  of  the  years  that  have  recently  passed 
is  not  to  be  wasted,  if  the  large  sums  of  money  al 
ready  spent  on  investigations  pertaining  to  taxation 
shall  not  be  squandered,  if  the  producers  and  con 
sumers  of  Wisconsin  are  to  be  saved  from  paying 
a  million  dollars  of  additional  taxes  for  the  railroads 
in  the  form  of  higher  freight  rates  whenever  the 
railroads  deem  it  safe  to  increase  these  rates,  then 
it  will  be  because,  and  only  because  a  railway  com 
mission,  with  full  power  to  control  freight  rates, 
stands  between  the  railroads  and  the  people  of 
Wisconsin. 

Speech  at  Milton  Junction,  on  "Granger 

Legislation"  January  29,  1904. 

Granger  Regulation  not  Destructive 

Any  review  or  consideration  of  government  reg 
ulation  of  railway  transportation  must  deal  with 
state  and  federal  regulation,  in  a  measure,  inde 
pendently.  The  states  were  years  in  advance  of  the 
nation  in  moving  for  control  of  railway  services  and 
railway  rates.  As  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Iowa  and 
Minnesota  led  in  broadly  asserting  the  right  of  the 
state  legislature  to  control  transportation  rates  and 
services,  a  consideration  of  the  results  attained  in 


Railroad  Control  83 

these  states  is  important  and  necessary  to  an  in 
telligent  understanding  of  the  whole  subject. 

In  the  early  '70*5  these  states  enacted  legislation 
for  the  regulation  of  railroad  transportation.  The 
legislation  was  then  designated,  and  will  for  all 
time  be  known  as  "Granger  Legislation."  The 
granger  statutes  were  at  that  time  and  have  ever 
since  been  violently  denounced  as  radical,  revolu 
tionary,  and  a  hindrance  to  the  development  and 
prosperity  of  the  country.  And  yet  the  granger 
legislation  in  those  four  states  of  the  Old  North 
west  was  simply  a  protest  of  a  conservative  and  law- 
abiding  people  in  the  name  of  the  law,  against  a 
railroad  management  which  violated  the  rights  of 
individuals  without  pretense  of  excuse  or  justifica 
tion. 

The  granger  statutes  were  far  from  perfect,  es 
pecially  in  respect  to  provisions  for  their  enforce 
ment.  But  they  were  essentially  correct  in  prin 
ciple  and  reasonable  in  their  terms,  so  far  as  the 
railroads  were  concerned,  and  in  so  far  as  they 
sought  to  regulate  services  and  rates  between  the 
public  and  the  public-service  corporations.  They 
were  in  no  sense  "an  unwarranted  and  irrational  in 
terference  with  the  laws  of  trade  and  economic  con 
ditions."  They  simply  applied  a  principle  as  old  as 
the  common  law.  They  wrere  enacted  with  the  pur 
pose  of  enforcing  just  and  equitable  rates  to  in 
dividuals  and  communities.  They  expressed  in 
legislation  an  effort  to  escape  from  arbitrary  and 
tyrannical  control  on  the  part  of  common  carriers. 

This  was  the  first  great  struggle  between  the  rail 
roads  and  the  public  to  determine  which  should  be 


84  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

master.  It  was  a  battle  royal,  and  established  as  the 
law  of  this  country  the  right  of  the  people  through 
legislation  to  regulate  transportation  charges  upon 
the  railroads  of  the  land. 

The  ability  with  which  the  railroads  conducted 
their  opposition  to  the  granger  legislation  is  inter 
esting  and  instructive  at  this  time.  It  was  an  indi 
cation  of  their  sincerity,  and  a  measure  of  the  value 
of  their  representations  with  respect  to  the  disaster 
to  the  railway  business  and  the  industrial  interests 
of  the  country,  which  they  assert  is  certain  to  fol 
low  the  legislation  now  proposed  in  some  of  the 
slates  for  state  regulation,  and  in  congress  for  an 
enlargement  of  the  powers  of  the  interstate  com 
merce  commission,  as  demanded  by  the  people,  and 
suggested  by  the  president  in  his  recent  message  to 
congress. 

Alarmist  Predictions  Not  Borne  Out 

Upon  the  enactment  of  the  granger  laws,  harrow 
ing  accounts  of  "Railroad  Construction  at  a  Stand 
still,"  of  the  "Collapse  of  Railroad  Business,"  the 
"Spoliation  and  Ruin  of  Railway  Property,"  and 
the  "Checking  of  All  Development  in  the  Granger 
States"  were  published  and  re-published  as  the  dire 
and  awful  consequences  following  as  a  logical  re 
sult  of  that  legislation. 

From  the  enactment  of  the  law  in  Wisconsin  un 
til  its  repeal,  two  years  later,  when  the  railroads  re 
gained  control  of  the  legislature,  and  long  after,  the 
highest  talent  which  money  could  command  was 
employed  in  assailing  the  Wisconsin  law,  and  the 


Railroad  Control  85 

laws  passed  in  Illinois,  Iowa  and  Minnesota,  as 
well,  and  in  misrepresenting  the  effect  of  the  legis 
lation  upon  railway  and  all  other  business  within 
the  state.  Reports  as  to  the  financial  condition  of 
the  roads  were  suppressed  or  destroyed,  and  the 
corporations  caused  to  be  published  broadcast  that 
not  only  had  their  business  fallen  off,  but  that  they 
had  been  obliged  to  suspend  all  construction  and 
improvements,  and  that  even  maintenance  of  exist 
ing  lines  was  threatened,  while  the  railroad  busi 
ness,  and  all  other  business  dependent  upon  it,  was 
prostrate  and  languishing  in  consequence  of  the 
legislation  which  "violated  all  the  la\vs  of  trade." 

Even  economic  writers  of  eminence  and  fairness 
of  purpose  accepting  the  railroad  figures  then  put 
forth  and  the  railroad  conditions  then  reported  by 
the  companies,  were  misled  into  partisan  and  vio 
lent  denunciation  of  granger  legislation.  In  all  of 
the  criticism  and  attack  made  at  the  time,  and 
since,  it  seems  almost  incredible  that  no  independent 
investigation  should  have  been  made  by  any  of  the 
writers  dealing  with  this  subject.  This  is  especi 
ally  true  of  those  whose  criticisms  should  have  been 
based  upon  thoroughgoing  and  critical  study,  in 
conformity  with  the  character  of  the  work  then  and 
afterwards  turned  out  by  them  as  authors  and 
writers  upon  economic  subjects.  Strangely  enough, 
it  is  manifest  that  their  argument  was  based  upon 
false  premises  furnished,  and  misleading  statements 
published  by  the  interested  railroad  authorities.  In 
so  far  as  my  research  extends,  I  have  been  unable 
to  find  that  any  one  of  them  ever  made  an  inde 
pendent,  critical  analysis  of  the  facts  involved. 


86  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  written  and 
the  authorities  which  may  be  quoted  to  the  con 
trary,  I  venture  here  to  declare  that,  in  so  far  as  the 
granger  laws  were  enforced  in  either  of  the  four 
states,  they  were  helpful  and  not  harmful  to  the 
interests  of  the  state  and  of  its  citizens  and  of  the 
railway  companies  as  well. 

Speech,  Milton  Junction,  Wisconsin,  1904. 

Government  Control  Vital 

No  power  other  than  the  government  itself  is 
equal  to  that  of  these  industrial  combinations  al 
ways  in  close  association,  and  often  identified  in  in 
terest,  with  railroad  and  transportation  companies. 
Their  tremendous  political  influence  is  shown  by 
the  mere  recital  of  the  history  of  the  interstate  com 
merce  act,  and  by  an  examination  of  the  records  of 
congress  for  the  last  seven  years.  Which  has  had 
the  stronger  hold  upon  the  state  and  national  legis 
lation  during  the  last  twenty  years,  the  corporations 
or  the  people?  Whose  interests  have  been  the  more 
safely  guarded?  Where  is  the  power  lodged  which 
has  for  seven  years  been  strong  enough  to  bar  na 
tional  legislation,  designed  to  enlarge  the  powers 
of  the  interstate  commerce  commission?  It  is  not 
necessary  to  charge  venality  anywhere,  but  that 
the  public-service  corporations  have  been  steadily 
undermining  representative  government  in  national, 
state -and  municipal  legislation,  no  thoughtful  man 
can  question.  They  come  between  the  people,  and 
the  chosen  representatives  of  the  people. 

I  would  in  no  wise  disparage  either  the  rights  or 
the  interests  of  the  railroad  side  of  this  legislation. 


Railroad  Control  87 

The  question  is  one  of  very  great  magnitude.  The 
amount  of  property  involved  is  very  large.  The 
owners  of  railroads,  and  the  holders  of  railroad 
securities  must  be  protected  in  all  of  their  rights. 
They  must  not  be  wronged  in  any  way.  They  are 
entitled  to  such  remuneration  as  will  enable  them 
to  maintain  their  roads  in  perfect  condition,  pay  the 
best  of  wages  to  employees,  meet  all  other  expenses 
incident  to  operation,  and  in  addition  thereto  enough 
more  to  make  a  reasonable  profit  upon  every  dol 
lar  invested  in  the  business.  To  preserve  all  of 
these  rights,  they  are  entitled  to  the  strongest  pro 
tection  which  the  law  can  afford. 

But  the  public,  each  community,  and  every  in 
dividual,  has  rights  equally  precious.  Upon  the 
railway  companies  rendering  an  adequate  and  im 
partial  service  at  reasonable  rates,  all  general  pros 
perity  is  dependent.  Deprived  of  either,  every 
community  is  checked  and  limited  in  its  growth ; 
every  business  of  whatever  nature  must  languish 
and  fail.  The  denial  of  an  impartial  service  at  rea 
sonable  rates,  is  the  denial  of  equal  opportunity, 
the  denial  of  a  square  deal. 

Message  to  Legislature,  1904. 

Must  Control  Railroads 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  plan  developed  and 
consummated  in  building  up  the  anthracite  coal 
trust,  the  grain  trust  and  the  meat  trust  is  indi 
cative  of  the  power  of  the  railroads  in  combinations. 
There  is  not  an  important  trust  in  the  United  States 
which  does  not  have  the  assistance  of  the  railroads 
in  destroying  its  competitors  in  business.  The 


88  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

limitation  and  control  of  these  public-service  cor 
porations  within  their  legitimate  field  as  common 
carriers  is  of  primary  importance  in  the  practical 
solution  of  the  trust  problem  which  confronts  the 
people  of  this  country.  It  is  manifest  that  any 
trust  legislation  to  be  effective  must  go  hand  in 
hand  with  a  control  over  railway  rates  by  the  fed 
eral  government  on  interstate  commerce,  through 
an  enlargement  of  the  powers  of  the  interstate 
commerce  commission,  and  a  like  control  of  rail 
way  rates  on  state  commerce  by  each  of  the  states 
through  a  state  commission.  Added  to  this,  the 
railroad  companies  must  be  prohibited  from  using 
the  extraordinary  powers  conferred  upon  them  by 
the  state  for  any  other  purpose  than  conducting 
efficiently  and  impartially  the  transportation  busi 
ness  for  \vhich  they  were  organized. 

When  we  consider  the  magnitude  of  the  railroad 
question  and  the  industrial  question,  and  their  com 
bined  influence  upon  industrial  and  political  inde 
pendence,  it  becomes  apparent  that  it  is  impossible 
to  overstate  or  exaggerate  the  dangers  with  which 
we  are  menaced.  These  great  combinations  of 
wealth,  owning  most  of  the  natural  produce  of  the 
earth,  controlling  what  they  do  not  own,  created 
and  nourished  by  the  railways  and  in  combination 
with  them,  are  already  making  their  powerful  in 
fluence  felt  in  municipal,  state,  and  national  legisla 
tion.  More  than  all  other  national  questions  with 
which  we  have  to  deal  should  this  question  be  placed 
above  party  consideration.  The  sentiment  of  the 
American  people  is  unanimous  that  it  should  be 
solved,  not  in  any  spirit  of  blind,  irrational  preju- 


Railroad  Control  89 

dice,  but  with  an  enlightened  public  policy  that 
employs  all  the  power  lodged  in  state  and  federal 
government  against  the  wrongful  usurpation  of  the 
rights  of  the  people. 

"Raihvay  Regulation,"   1904. 

Carriers  Have  But  One  Duty 

Whenever  and  wherever  persons  engage  in  the 
business  of  public  carrying  the  law  says  to  them  : 
"You  must  provide  efficient  service,  you  must  be 
fair  and  impartial,  your  charges  must  be  just,  and 
reasonable.  Your  legitimate  function  is  transpor 
tation.  In  your  capacity  as  a  public  servant,  you 
must  know  nothing  of  persons,  things,  or  places. 
You  are  legally  bound  to  treat  all  alike.  Discrim 
ination  and  favoritism  are  forbidden." 

While  it  has  been  commonly  understood  that  the 
railways  of  the  country  have  overridden  law,  and, 
in  a  measure,  controlled  legislation,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  any  considerable  number  of  the  people  of 
Wisconsin  have  until  very  recently  had  any  con 
ception  of  the  enormity  of  the  wrong  which  they 
have  suffered  in  discriminating  rates  at  the  hands  of 
railroads  through  this  Commonwealth. 

Railroad  transportation  is  a  tax  upon  the  com 
merce  of  the  country.  It  is  a  tax  from  which  no  one 
Cc.n  escape.  Every  producer,  every  consumer,  every 
man  who  buys,  every  man  who  sells,  must  pay  rail 
road  transportation.  It  pervades  every  phase  of  our 
existence;  it  is  a  part  of  every  hour  of  our  daily  life. 
It  is  an  important  element  in  the  cost  of  our  cloth 
ing,  our  food,  our  fuel.  It  is  a  tax  upon  that  which 
nourishes  our  intellectual  and  spiritual  life  as  well, 


go  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

the  books  we  read,  the  schools  and  churches  we 
build.  It  adds  materially  to  the  price  of  everything 
we  purchase.  Each  article  of  manufacture,  every 
pound  of  butter  and  cheese,  or  pork  and  beef,  every 
produce  of  the  soil,  must  pay  its  part  of  the  forty- 
five  millions  and  more  that  constitute  the  gross 
amount  paid  as  transportation  charges  to  the  rail 
roads  of  Wisconsin  every  twelve  months. 

How  essential  it  is  that  this  tax  imposed  by  the 
railroads  should  be  fairly  and  justly  levied.  It  must 
be  just  and  reasonable  in  amount.  It  should  be 
justly  and  fairly  distributed.  Each  individual,  every 
class  of  business,  and  every  town,  city,  and  section 
ot  the  state  is  entitled  to  equitable  transportation 
charges  under  a  system  which  shall  be  open  to  pub 
lic  inspection  and  controlled  by  public  justice  in 
stead  of  private  interest. 

Message  to  Legislature,  Jan.  15,  1903. 

Evils  of  Discrimination 

No  man,  no  body  of  men,  wrongfully  amassing 
riches  out  of  the  toil  and  savings  of  others,  ever 
willingly  relinquished  such  tribute,  no  matter  how 
unjustly  levied.  Throughout  history  the  struggle 
has  continued  between  the  few,  vigilant,  aggressive, 
persistent,  well  organized,  rich,  and  powerful,  and 
the  many,  unorganized,  though  strong  in  individual 
numbers,  and  irresistible  in  concerted  and  continu 
ous  effort.  The  long  possession  of  any  power  or 
source  of  gain,  no  matter  how  unjustly  and  unlaw 
fully  acquired  or  exercised,  comes  sooner  or  later 
to  be  regarded  as  rightfully  belonging  to  the  pos 
sessor,  whose  indignation  is  at  once  aroused  against 


Railroad  Control  91 

the  man  or  the  laws  compelling  the  surrender  of 
such  power  or  source  of  gain.  Legislation  designed 
to  require  men  and  corporations  to  pay  a  just  share 
of  the  taxes  in  support  of  government  is  declared  to 
be  persecution.  Argument  and  recommendation  in 
plain,  direct  language  in  support  of  such  legislation 
is  denounced  as  violent  and  revolutionary.  The  pres 
entation  of  evidence  proving  indefensible  and  un 
just  discrimination  in  the  performance  of  a  service 
to  the  public  by  a  common  carrier  under  every  ob 
ligation  to  deal  with  all  alike, — a  discrimination  so 
unjust  and  so  sweeping  as  to  amount  to  a  wrong 
against  all  the  people  of  a  great  commonwealth, — 
the  proof  of  this  to  the  legislature  and  the  public  is 
decried  as  tending  and  intended  to  arouse  prejudice 
and  is  complained  of  most  bitterly  as  radical  and 
populistic. 

There  is  an  aphorism,  the  truth  of  which  has  long 
been  accepted;  that  no  member  of  that  class  which 
has  alwrays  found  difficulty  in  distinguishing  as  to 
the  ownership  of  property,  "e'er  felt  the  halter  draw 
with  good  opinion  of  the  law" — or  of  the  advocate 
of  the  law. 

Special  Message  to  Legislature  on  State  Regula 
tion  of  Railroad  Rates,  April  29,   1903. 

Regulation  a  Duty 

The  government  has  a  duty  to  perform  in  the  reg 
ulation  and  control  of  railway  transportation,  be 
cause  the  service  is  a  public  service  and  essentially 
a  function  of  government.  But  there  are  other 
reasons. 


g2  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

The  railway  corporation  is  a  natural  monopoly. 
Its  lines  once  established  in  a  given  territory  nat 
urally  excludes  other  capital  from  investment  in  a 
field  which  it  covers.  People  living  along  its  line, 
and  in  the  country  tributary  to  it,  must  market  their 
products  and  receive  their  supplies  over  its  road. 
They  have  no  choice.  The  government  had  em 
powered  the  railway  company  to  take  their  land  on 
which  it  has  built  its  road.  They  must  accept  their 
services,  or  they  must  "walk."  The  government 
has  placed  the  corporation  in  a  position  where,  un 
controlled,  it  can  tyrannize  over  individuals  and 
entire  communities.  It  is  therefore  bound  to  pro 
tect  them  against  any  wrong  or  injustice  at  the 
hands  of  its  creatures.  Nay,  more,  the  government 
is  under  obligation  to  see  to  it  that  the  corporation 
performs  its  full  duty  to  all  persons  and  all  places, 
efficiently,  impartially  and  upon  reasonable  terms. 
The  government  cannot  divest  itself  of  this  re 
sponsibility.  One  of  the  ablest  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  judges,  speaking  for  that  court, 
said: 

"But  a  superintending  powder  over  the  high 
ways  and  the  charges  imposed  upon  the  public, 
for  their  use,  have  always  remained  in  the  gov 
ernment.  This  is  not  only  its  indefeasible  right, 
but  it  is  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  people 
against  extortion  and  abuse." 

The  duty  which  the  state  owes  to  protect  the 
commerce  of  the  state,  the  federal  government  owes 
to  protect  the  commerce  of  the  country. 

Message,  Railroad  Regulation,  1904. 


Railroad  Control  93 

Wages  and  Rates 

Whenever  the  public  complains  that  rates  are  un 
justly  increased,  we  are  at  once  told  in  sweeping, 
though  somewhat  indefinite  way  that  the  advances 
have  been  made  to  meet  increased  expenses  and 
higher  wages  paid  to  employees.  The  corporations 
well  understand  the  public  regard  for  all  the  men 
employed  in  this  hazardous  calling,  and  that  such 
an  explanation  will  go  a  long  way  to  quiet  criticism. 

It  is  true  that  material  is  somewhat  higher.  It  is 
likewise  true  that  the  companies  are  paying  higher 
wages  or  rather  higher  salaries.  The  total  wages 
paid  by  the  roads  of  late  years  have  increased, 
owing  mostly  to  the  increase  in  the  number  of  men 
employed  to  handle  the  traffic  or  business.  But  the 
total  wages  per  mile  of  road  from  1897  to  I9°2  did 
not  increase  over  32  per  cent  which  is  a  much  lower 
ratio  of  increase  than  the  increase  in  both  gross  and 
net  earnings. 

Message,  Railroad  Regulation,   1904. 

Ownership  As  Alternative 

(Note:  The  following  interview  with  Senator 
La  Follette  is  taken  from  an  unpublished  work 
dealing  with  the  reform  movement  in  Wisconsin:) 

About  the  time  that  La  Follette  was  first  elected 
governor  he  was  visited  by  a  man  who  had  stumped 
the  west  for  the  people's  party  and  wrho  had  been 
one  of  the  "intellectuals"  in  the  first  Oregon  move 
ment  in  the  90*8.  Said  the  visitor:  "Our  movement 
has  gone  down ;  I  am  a  man  without  a  party." 


94  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

"The  time  for  great  souls  is  when  all  is  lost,"  said 
La  Follette;  "You  belong  with  us." 

"But  I  believe  in  the  initiative  and  referendum. 
Can  I  be  a  republican  and  hold  such  views?" 

"You  can;  I  believe  in  them  myself." 

"I  am  also  for  the  popular  election  of  senators." 

"So  am  I,"  said  La  Follette. 

"I  also  favor  government  ownership  and  control 
pf  railroads." 

"We  may  have  to  come  to  that;  but  we  must  first 
obtain  and  try  regulation.  If  that  fails  the  people 
.will  no  doubt  take  over  the  common  carriers." 

"But  I  am  against  monopoly-breeding  tariffs, 
although  I  am  a  protectionist.  Can  I  hold  such 
views  and  still  be  a  republican?" 

"I  am  also  a  protectionist,  but  favor  a  tariff  that 
in  general  shall  measure  the  difference  between  the 
cost  of  production  at  home  and  in  the  competing 
foreign  countries." 

"I  had  not  thought  of  tariff  legislation  in  that 
light,"  said  the  visitor.  "If  I  can  be  that  kind  of 
a  republican  I  am  with  you." 

Government  Control  and  Regulation  of  Railways 

Sir,  I  say  to  the  Senate  here  today  that  nothing, 
absolutely  nothing,  can  prevent  the  ultimate  gov 
ernment  ownership  of  the  railroads  of  this  country 
except  a  strict  government  control  of  the  railroads 
of  the  country. 

There  is  today  in  the  stock  and  bond  valuation  of 
the  railroads  of  this  country  upward  of  seven  bil- 


Railroad  Control  95 

lions  of  water.  If  the  American  people  are  expected 
to  continue  to  pay  transportation  charges  that  will 
make  a  return  upon  that  valuation,  the  temper  of 
the  people  of  this  country  is  not  understood  here. 
Until  there  is  invested  in  this  commission  or  some 
other  authoritative  body  the  power  to  determine 
the  real,  true  valuation  of  the  railroads  of  this 
country  and  the  authority  to  fix  rates  so  that  they 
shall  bear  only  a  fair  return  upon  that  fair  value, 
senators  may  as  well  understand  now  that  you  will 
have  this  question  constantly  before  you.  It  will 
not  be  possible  to  suppress  it  or  keep  it  within  the 
closed  doors  of  committees  for  nine  years  to  come. 
At  every  session,  until  an  adequate  measure  is 
adopted,  while  I  remain  a  member  of  this  body  the 
demand  will  be  made  here  for  legislation  that  will 
insure  to  the  people  of  every  state  fair  treatment  at 
the  hands  of  the  common  carriers  of  the  country. 
Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate, 

April  19-21,  1906. 

Valuation  as  Basis  in  Rate-Making 

Mr.  President,  there  is  no  reason  for  us  to  hesi 
tate.  You  cannot  wrrong  the  railroads  in  this  mat 
ter.  The  courts  will  not  permit  it.  They  guard  the 
property  of  the  railroads  at  every  step.  All  the 
decisions  of  the  supreme  court  from  1870  down  to 
the  present  time  stand  like  a  bulwark,  like  a  breast 
work,  like  a  stone  wall  around  the  railroad  property. 
It  is  not  in  the  power  of  congress,  it  is  not  in  the 
power  of  any  state  legislature  to  do  harm  or  wrong 
to  a  railroad  company  in  the  states  or  in  the  United 
States.  I  repeat,  the  courts  will  not  permit  it. 


96  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Here  is  a  fair,  plain  proposition,  one  so  simple 
that  it  seems  to  me  no  man  can  hesitate  to  accord  it 
his  support;  and  I  appeal  to  the  senate  to  put  on 
the  records  after  all  these  years  this  rule  of  meas 
uring  reasonable  rates  and  of  ascertaining  the  true 
value  of  the  property  of  railroads  for  that  purpose 
sanctioned  by  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States,  urged  by  the  interstate  commerce  commis 
sion  for  a  decade,  and  approved  by  the  judgment 
and  conscience  of  this  country. 

The  amendment  provides  for  a  valuation  from 
time  to  time  covering  extensions  and  improve 
ments.  It  is  necessary,  if  we  are  to  follow  the  rule 
of  the  supreme  court  and  are  to  deal  fairly  by  these 
companies,  that  wre  should  make  and  maintain  a 
valuation  that  completely  covers  the  property,  and 
it  is  necessary,  if  we  are  to  deal  fairly  by  the  public, 
that  we  should  not  leave  it  to  the  railroads  to  fix 
the  value  of  their  property  at  any  sum  which  they 
choose  to  name. 

It  is  the  duty  of  this  government,  Mr.  President, 
to  see  that  the  people  of  this  country  receive  reason 
able  rates,  impartial  rates,  and  adequate  services. 
These  three  things  belong  to  the  public  at  the  hands 
of  every  transportation  company  that  is  given  a 
franchise,  and  the  government  owes  it  to  the  public 
to  guarantee  those  three  things — reasonable  rates, 
impartial  rates,  and  adequate  services.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  owes  it  to  the  railroad  company  to 
see  that  it  has  a  fair  return  on  the  fair  value  of  its 
property — no  more  and  no  less. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate, 

May  31,  1910. 


Railroad  Control  97 

To  Strengthen  Railway  Bill 

Mr.  President,  the  people  protest  against  the  ever 
increasing  burdens  of  railway  transportation.  They 
know  enough  of  railroad  finance  to  understand  that 
there  is  no  justification  for  advancing  rates.  They 
\vill  not  be  satisfied  with  the  postponement  of  rate 
increases  for  a  few  months.  They  cry  out  with  one 
voice  for  substantial  and  permanent  relief.  They 
want  justice  from  their  government. 

Xo  man  who  has  vision  and  outlook  can  fail  to 
see  what  is  coming  in  this  country  unless  these 
great  and  powerful  organizations  are  brought  into 
subjection  and  control.  Within  a  decade  and  a  half 
we  have  seen  competition  in  all  the  industries  wiped 
out  and  markets  and  prices  placed  under  a  common 
control.  Within  the  same  period  of  time  we  have 
seen  the  railroad  lines  consolidate  and  merge  until 
there  is  scarcely  a  trace  of  competition  left  in  trans 
portation.  There  is  nothing  to  stay  the  increased 
cost  of  living  except  the  ability  of  the  consumer  to 
pay.  Need  anybody  marvel  at  the  public  unrest— 
the  growing  feeling  of  resentment? 

Mr.  President,  with  all  of  the  improvement  we 
have  been  able  to  make  in  this  bill,  to  me  it  is  a 
matter  of  deep  and  profound  regret  that  wre  still 
fall  far  short  of  having  discharged  our  plain  duty  to 
the  people  who  trust  us  to  represent  them  in  this 
body.  Every  senator  on  this  floor  knows  that  the 
interstate  commerce  commission  is  powerless  to  do 
the  very  things  for  the  public  which  the  law  im 
poses  upon  the  commission  as  a  duty.  We  require 
the  railroads  to  file  with  the  commission  all  changes 


98  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

in  rates,  ostensibly  to  enable  the  commission  to 
keep  some  check  upon  rate  changes.  Then  we  re 
fuse  to  equip  the  commission  with  sufficient  help 
to  enable  it  to  examine  a  fraction  of  one  per  cent  of 
the  rate  schedules  filed  with  it  week  after  week. 

More  than  5,000  men,  the  best  and  highest  paid 
men  in  the  railway  service,  are  making  rates,  work 
ing  out  an  increase  here,  another  there;  watching 
the  tonnage  and  pushing  transportation  charges  a 
notch  higher  wherever  the  traffic  will  bear  the 
burden.  And  Congress  furnishes  the  commission 
of  seven  men  one  cheap,  lowr-priced  clerk  to  check 
over  the  work  of  50  high-priced  rate  experts  em 
ployed  by  the  railroads.  We  require  the  commis 
sion  to  fix  reasonable  rates,  and  then  vote  down  an 
amendment  to  authorize  them  to  get  the  value  of 
raihvay  property,  without  which  they  cannot  take 
the  first  step  to  ascertain  reasonable  rates.  Sir,  it 
is  a  travesty — a  farce.  It  is  more  than  that — it  is  a 
betrayal  of  those  who  have  confided  in  us ;  of  those 
who  honor  us. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  1911. 

On  Esch-Cummins  Railway  Bill 

Long  before  we  entered  the  war,  the  railway 
transportation  system  of  the  country  was  on  the 
verge  of  total  collapse  through  mismanagement  and 
corruption.  The  railroads  from  the  beginning  were 
grossly  over-capitalized,  and  the  public  was  burd 
ened  with  constantly  increasing  rates  to  pay  divi 
dends  on  watered  stocks.  Added  to  this,  the  rail 
roads  were  unlawfully  permitted  to  collect  from  the 


Railroad  Control  99 

public  a  further  excessive  rate  for  the  accumula 
tion  of  billions  in  surplus.  Out  of  these  vast  sums, 
thus  wrongfully  levied  upon  traffic  and  pocketed 
as  surplus,  the  railroads  built  extensions  and  made 
permanent  improvements.  They  then  over-capital 
ized  these  improvements  as  a  basis  for  further 
wrongful  exactions  from  the  public. 

Moreover,  the  managers  openly  robbed  the  .rail 
roads  from  the  inside.  Construction  and  supply 
companies  were  organized  by  railway  officers  and 
managers.  From  these:  companies  the  railroads 
bought  supplies  of  all  kinds  at  exorbitant  prices. 
Unrestrained  greed  exacted  such  profits  on  pur 
chases  by  these  insiders  from  themselves  that  there 
was  always  a  shortage  of  funds  for  properly  equip 
ping  the  roads.  This  inside  graft  ate  up  the  reve 
nues  of  the  railroads  and  furnished  a  perennial  ex 
cuse  for  still  further  increasing  rates  upon  the  pub 
lic.  It  goes  without  saying  that  a  transportation 
system  honeycombed  with  official  graft  and  dis 
honesty  was  certain  to  be  supplied — in  so  far  as 
supplied  at  all — with  inferior  and  defective  equip 
ment. 

The  result  was  inevitable.  When  the  European 
war  came  on,  with  its  stimulus  to  increased  pro 
duction  and  traffic,  the  roads,  already  short  of  en 
gines,  cars  and  all  manner  of  equipment,  at  once 
disclosed  the  rottenness  and  inefficiency  of  the 
whole  transportation  system.  By  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1916 — months  before  we  entered  the  war — to 
quote  Director  General  McAdoo,  "they  had  reached 
such  a  point  that  traffic  was  almost  paralyzed, 
through  inability  to  furnish  but  a  small  part  of  the 


ioo  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

cars  necessary  for  the  transportation  of  staple  ar 
ticles  of  commerce." 

When  in  1917  the  government  was  forced  to  seize 
the  roads  it  took  over  a  ramshackle  and  utterly  de 
moralized  railway  system.  The  operation  of  rail 
roads  in  such  a  state  of  disrepair  was  very  expensive 
and  wasteful  under  the  most  favorable  conditions 
and  excessively  so  under  the  extraordinary  demands 
the  war  imposed. 

We  are  now  urged  to  enter  upon  another  pro 
tracted  period  of  attempting  to  combine  the  conflict 
ing  and  warring  elements  of  private  ownership  and 
public  regulation.  If  our  past  experience  teaches  us 
anything,  is  it  not  plain  that  this  means  another  era 
of  enormous  profits  for  the  private  owners  at  the 
cost  of  an  enormous  and  unwarranted  expense  to 
the  public? 

Is  it  rational  to  believe  that  in  a  few  short  months 
a  small  group  of  senators  and  representatives — no 
one  of  us  an  expert  in  railway  transportation — has 
discovered  some  magic  by  which  the  miserable  fail 
ures  of  seventy  years  are  to  be  converted  into  a 
marvelous  success? 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  1919. 

Esch-Cummins  Bill  Analyzed 

No  more  important  measure  ever  came  before  the 
senate  of  the  United  States  for  consideration.  Yet 
public  hearings  were  held  upon  the  bill  before  the 
committee  which  framed  it,  and  not  one-fifth  of  the 
members  of  the  senate  have  been  in  their  seats 
during  the  few  sessions  that  the  bill  has  been  de 
bated  in  the  senate. 


Railroad  Control  101 

The  bill  is  at  once  revolutionary  and  reactionary. 
All  its  essential  features  are  to  be  found  in  the  plans 
submitted  by  the  committee  of  railway  executives 
and  the  committee  of  railway  security  holders,  and 
they  were  opposed  writh  substantial  unanimity  by 
the  labor  organizations,  farm  organizations,  and 
representatives  of  various  other  organizations  that 
were  accorded  a  hearing  before  the  interstate  com 
merce  committee. 

Instead  of  the  preposterous  scheme  of  railway 
legislation  embodied  in  this  bill  which  I  have  only 
hastily  sketched,  I  propose  simply  that  the  railroads 
shall  stay  where  they  are  under  federal  operation 
for  some  years  to  come.  I  suggest  that  the  period 
be  five  years  after  the  termination  of  the  war.  I 
understand  that  both  the  former  and  the  present 
director  general  of  the  railroads  favor  the  continu 
ation  of  government  operation  for  the  same  period. 
Within  that  time  we  can  give  government  operation 
a  fair  trial. 

La  Follettc's  Magazine,  December,  1919. 

The  Iniquity  of  the  Esch-Cummins  Law 

I  shall  presently  show  how  the  whole  system  of 
railway  accounting  has  been  built  up  with  a  view 
of  concealing  these  illegal  transactions  and  of  con 
cealing  the  earnings  of  the  railways  from  year  to 
year  up  to  the  present  time.  Sir,  I  should  not  care 
to  trespass  upon  the  time  of  the  Senate,  to  present 
the  facts  of  the  false  and  fraudulent  capitalization  of 
the  railroads  of  these  earlier  years,  except  that  the 
villainous  system  still  survives. 


iO2  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

You  may  dull  your  ears  to  that,  you  may  deaden 
your  consciences  to  it,  you  may  set  your  face  to  go 
through  with  this  thing  no  matter  what  the  show 
ing  or  what  the  argument,  but  let  me  say  to  you 
that  you  will  not  bury  this  fraud  by  your  votes  to 
day.  Like  Banquo's  ghost,  it  cannot  be  buried.  It 
is  an  iniquity  that  will  live  until  the  scales  of  justice 
are  fairly  balanced. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  on  Railroad  Control, 

December  20,   1919. 
The  Darkened  Glass 

MR.  McCORMICK,  Mr.  President— 

THE  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  Does  the  Sena 
tor  from  Wisconsin  yield  to  the  Senator  from  Illi* 
nois? 

MR.  LA  FOLLETTE.     I  do. 

MR.  McCORMICK.  I  only  wanted  to  observe 
that  there  are  some  of  us  who  perhaps  have  as  little 
taste  for  this  bill  as  the  Senator  from  Wisconsin, 
but  we  do  not  see  clearly  to  the  end  of  the  passage 
along  which  he  would  lead  us.  We  see  "through  a 
glass  darkly,"  as  the  Scripture  has  it. 

MR.  LA  FOLLETTE.  I  know.  I  do  not  wonder 
at  that.  The  railroads  and  the  railroad  press  have 
been  darkening  that  glass  for  two  years  and  distorting 
the  facts  through  it.  If  the  Senator  could  have  the 
patience  to  follow  me,  I  believe  that  I  can  produce 
facts  here  that  will  entirely  sustain  my  proposition 
to  leave  this  matter  for  at  least  two  years  in  the 
hands  of  the  Federal  Government. 

It  has  been  admitted  by  practically  every  speaker 
i«  behalf  of  this  bill — I  think  by  every  speaker— 
that  it  will  be  three  years  before  the  interstate 


Railroad  Control  103 

commerce  commission  can  report  upon  railroad 
valuation.  In  the  meantime  the  book  value,  as  I 
contend,  must  be  accepted ;  and,  Senators,  the  re 
marks  in  behalf  of  this  bill  of  all  except  the  Senator 
from  Iowa  (Mr.  Cummins),  clearly  show  that  they 
expect  book  value  to  be  accepted,  and  they  are  argu 
ing  for  the  validity  of  book  value ;  and  never  before 
this  session  did  anybody  ever  argue,  here  or  at  any 
other  place,  unless  he  was  a  retained  attorney  for 
the  railroad  companies  before  the  interstate  com 
merce  commission,  for  the  validity  of  book  value. 
Speech,  U.  S.  Senate,  on  Railroad  Control, 
December  20,  1919. 


VI. 
TRUSTS  AND  MONOPOLIES 


The  Greatest  of  Issues 

HERE  is  just  one  issue  before  the 
country  today.  It  is  not  trust  regula 
tion.  It  is  not  banking  and  currency. 
It  is  not  tariff.  It  is  not  railroad  regu 
lation.  It  is  not  conservation.  These 
and  other  important  questions  are  but  phases  of 
one  great  conflict. 

Let  no  public  servant  think  he  is  not  concerned ; 
that  his  state  or  his  constituency  is"  not  interested. 
There  is  no  remote  corner  of  this  country  where 
the  power  of  special  interest  is  not  encroaching 
on  public  rights. 

Let  no  man  think  this  is  a  question  of  party 
politics.  It  strikes  down  to  the  very  foundation  of 
our  free  institutions.  The  system  knows  no  party. 
It  has  long  supplanted  government.  Without  risk 
of  being  misunderstood,  at  least  by  those  of  whom  I 
speak,  I  may  say  that  I  know  something  of  the 
sentiment  of  the  people  of  this  country. 

There  is  no  difference  of  opinion  among  them  as 
to  existing  conditions  and  causes  underlying  it  all. 
In  Wisconsin,  and  from  New  York  to  the  Pacific 
States,  the  people  hold  one  opinion,  have  one  con 
viction.  They  are  deeply  concerned.  They  under 
stand.  Men  back  of  the  system  seem  to  know  not 
what  they  do. 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  105 

In  their  strife  for  more  money,  more  power — 
more  power,  more  money — there  is  no  time  for 
thought,  for  reflection.  They  look  neither  forward 
nor  backward.  Government,  society,  and  the  indi 
vidual  are  swallowed  in  the  struggle  for  greater 
control.  The  plain  man  living  the  wholesome  life 
of  peace  and  contentment  has  a  better  prospective, 
a  saner  judgment.  He  has  ideals  and  conscience 
a n d  human  emotions.  Home,  children,  neighbors, 
friends,  church,  schools,  country,  constitute  life.  He 
knows  very  definitely  the  conditions  affecting  the 
rights  guaranteed  him  by  the  constitution,  but  he 
longs  for  expression,  he  longs  for  leadership. 

Blind,  indeed,  is  he  wrho  does  not  see  what  the 
time  portends.  He  who  would  remain  in  public 
service  must  serve  the  public,  not  the  system.  He 
must  serve  his  country,  not  special  interests. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  July  n,  1914. 

Failure  of  Anti-Trust  Laws 

The  operation  of  federal  and  state  anti-trust  and 
conspiracy  laws  has  been  productive  of  flagrant 
inequalities.  The  laws  have  been  circumvented  by 
the  most  dangerous  and  powerful  of  monopolies  and 
trusts,  which,  through  their  control  of  banks,  money 
and  credit  centered  in  Wall  street,  are  able  to  con 
trol  the  natural  resources,  the  food,  clothing  and 
highways  of  the  nation.  The  money  power  taking 
refuge  under  corporation  law,  in  order  to  defy  or 
evade  the  conspiracy  laws,  has  crushed  competitors 
and  has  built  up  financial  monopolies  in  the  interest 
of  speculators  and  against  the  interest  of  bona  fide 
investors,  producers,  wage-earners  and  farmers. 


io6  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

These  very  laws  that  have  failed  to  prevent  finan 
cial  and  industrial  monopoly  have  been  used  to  sup 
press  the  unions  and  co-operative  efforts  of  wage- 
earners  and  farmers  in  their  struggle  to  protect  the 
value  of  their  labor  against  moneyed  interests. 
Under  the  pretense  of  equal  treatment  of  capital 
and  labor,  the  farmer  and  the  laborer  whose  capital 
is  their  labor  and  their  savings  from  their  labor, 
have  been  compelled  to  pay  toll  to  those  whose 
capital  is  their  political  power  and  their  power  to 
withhold. money  and  credit  from  the  commerce  and 
industry  of  the  country. 

Republican  State  Platform,  1910. 

Unions  and  Farmers'  Organizations 
Should  Be  Exempt 

We  favor  such  classification  of  unions,  associa 
tions,  monopolies,  trusts  and  corporations  as  shall 
abolish  this  pretense  and  shall  establish  real  equal 
ity  before  the  law.  Where  monopoly  is  inevitable 
we  favor  complete  regulation  by  government.  But 
we  are  opposed  to  any  change  in  the  laws  against 
trusts  and  monopolies  except  as  herein  stated,  until 
the  people  have  regained  control  of  government, 
and  have  been  able  to  assert  complete  control  over 
all  questions  of  monopoly  and  corporation  law. 
Republican  State  Platform,  1910. 

Price  Control  and  Restraint  of  Trade  Criminal 

The  evils  to  be  reached  by  legislation  on  trusts 
and  monopolies  are  such  combinations  and  con 
federations  as  are  organized  to  control  prices,  create 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  107 

monopolies  and  destroy  competition,  or  which,  in 
their  practical  working,  have  that  effect. 

It  is  not  because  a  corporation  has  a  large  capital 
or  transacts  a  large  and  profitable  business  that  it  is 
an  injury  to  the  community  or  a  menace  to  its  pros 
perity.  On  the  contrary,,1  (the  development  and 
growth  of  modern  business  have  made  large  aggre 
gations  of  capital  absolutely  necessary,  and  such 
capital  is  fairly  entitled  to  a  reasonable  legitimate 
profit.  The  wrong  is  done  and  the  injury  inflicted 
when  such  combinations  of  capital  are  enabled,  by 
means  adopted  for  that  purpose,  to  control  prices, 
stifle  competition,  and  create  a  monopoly. 

I  think  legislation  should  be  adopted  providing 
that,  if  any  corporation  organized  under  the  laws 
of  this  or  any  other  state,  or  any  partnership  or  as 
sociation  of  individuals,  or  any  individuals,  shall 
enter  into,  or  become  a  member  of,  or  a  party  to, 
any  trust,  agreement,  combination,  partnership,  per 
son,  or  association  of  persons,  to  regulate  or  fix  the 
price  of  any  commodity  or  to-  limit  the  amount  of 
any  commodity  to  be  manufactured,  mined,  sold, 
transported  or  placed  on  sale  or  disposed  of,  or  to 
do,  or  to  refrain  from  doing,  any  other  thing  with 
the  intent  to  control  and  fix  the  price  of  any  com 
modity  to  be  manufactured,  mined,  sold  or  trans 
ported  in  this  state,  such  corporation  and  the  officers 
and  agents  thereof,  and  such  partnership,  individ 
uals  and  associations  of  persons,  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  conspiracy  to  defraud,  and  shall  be  sub 
ject  to  such  prosecution  and  punishment  and  such 
penalty  or  forfeiture  as  may,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
legislature,  be  proper. 


io8  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Such  enactment  should  also  contain  suitable  pro 
visions  making  al-1  such  contracts  and  agreement^ 
void,  and  provide  machinery  for  the  collection  of 
such  penalties  and  forfeitures  and  for  the  annulment 
of  the  charter  of  such  offender,  if  a  domestic  cor 
poration,  and  for  the  forfeiture  of  the  right  to  do 
business  in  this  state  if  a  foreign  corporation,  and 
imposing  such  penalties  on  the  individuals  con 
victed  of  violating  the  law,  as  may  be  appropriate. 
Message  to  Legislature,  1901. 

The  "Interests"  or  the  People? 

It  seems  to  me  now,  as  I  look  back  upon  those 
years,  that  most  of  the  lawmakers  and  indeed  most 
of  the  public,  looked  upon  congress  and  the  govern 
ment  as  a  means  of  getting  some  sort  of  advantage 
for  themselves  or  for  their  home  towns  or  home 
states.  River  and  harbor  improvements  without 
merit,  public  buildings  without  limit,  raids  upon 
the  public  lands  and  forests,  subsidies  and  tariffs, 
very  largely  occupied  the  attention  of  congressmen. 
Lobbyists  for  all  manner  of  private  interests,  es 
pecially  the  railroads,  crowded  the  corridors  of  the 
capitol  and  the  Washington  hotels  and  not  only 
argued  for  favorable  legislation,  but  demanded  it. 

At  the  time  I  was  in  congress,  from  1885  to  1891, 
the  onslaught  of  these  private  interests  was  reach 
ing  its  height.  I  did  not  then  fully  realize  that  this 
was  the  evidence  of  a  great  system  of  "community 
of  interest,"  which  was  rapidly  getting  control  of 
our  political  parties,  our  government,  our  courts. 
The  issue  has  since  become  clear.  Whether  it 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  109 

shows  itself  in  the  tariff,  in  Alaska,  in  municipal 
franchises,  in  the  trusts,  in  the  railroads,  or  the  great 
banking  interests,  we  know  that  it  is  one  and  the 
same  thing. 

And  there  can  be  no  compromise  with  these  in 
terests  that  seek  to  control  the  government.  Either 
they  or  the  people  will  rule. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

Positive  Action  on  Trusts 

Foreign  competition  will  not,  therefore,  cure  the 
trust  evil :  indeed,  it  will  encourage  the  movement, 
already  strongly  in  evidence,  toward  the  organiza 
tion  of  international  and  worldwide  monopolies. 

No,  the  constructive  statesmen  of  those  times 
saw  clearly  that  there  must  be  positive  action  of 
government  either  to  prevent  or  to  control  monop 
olies.  Two  very  significant  laws,  both  of  which  I 
supported  heartily,  were  therefore  passed  in  those 
years.  In  one  of  these — the  Sherman  anti-trust 
act — the  keynote  was  prohibition,  the  effort  to  pre 
vent  combination  and  to  restore  competition  by 
drastic  laws.  In  the  other,  the  act  establishing  the 
interstate  commerce  commission  for  the  control  of 
railroads,  the  keynote  was  regulation. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

The  Making  of  America 

For,  after  all,  the  glory  and  achievement  of  our 
country  is  men,  not  things.  We  build  railroads  and 
bridges  and  factories  and  markets,  and  outstrip  the 
nations  of  the  earth  in  trade  and  commerce.  And 
what  does  it  all  signify?  Is  it  the  mere  indication 
of  the  fatness  of  our  land?  or  has  it  a  deeper  mean- 


no  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

ing?  Manifestly  these  material  things  represent 
the  energy,  the  ingenuity,  the  intelligence,  the  cour 
age,  of  four  generations  of  men,  inspired  with  the 
conviction  that  they  were  born  free  and  equal.  Take 
the  spirit  of  our  free  institutions  out  of  the  life  of 
this  nation  and  \ve  would  be  compelled  to  re-write 
the  history  of  our  material  progress.  No  just  con 
ception  of  the  making  of  America  from  the  begin 
ning,  no  rational  understanding  of  her  present  and 
future,  can  ignore  the  relation  of  man  to  the  ma 
terial  development  of  our  country  and  the  influence 
of  modern  business  methods  upon  the  citizen  and 
his  government.  *  *  * 

So  long  as  industry,  thrift,  r^rudejnce^  and  honesty 
underlie  our  vasT"material  development,  there  is 
nothing  to  fear  in  the  making  of  America.  Every 
man  who  loves  his  country  must  rejoice  to  see  those 
basic  qualities  of  good  citizenship  rewarded.  There 
can  be  no  national  property  without  individual  pros 
perity.  Property,  whether  the  modest  home  of  the 
artisan  or  farmer,  or  the  great  fortune  of  the  mas 
ters  of  finance,  if  it  be  honorably  acquired  and  law 
fully  used,  is  a  contribution  to  the  stability  of  gov 
ernment,  as  well  as  to  material  progress.  *  *  * 

The  basic  principle  of  our  government  is  the  will 
of.  the  people.  The  representative  elected  by  the 
people  should  be  the  people's  representative.  If  the 
city  alderman,  the  state  legislator,  the  member  of 
congress,  or  the  United"  States  ""senator  represents 
privilege,  he  is  not  the  servant  of  the  people,  but  the 
servant  of  the  special  interest  he  represents.  The 
people  are  noFrepresented,  but  wealth  in  combina 
tion.  *  *  * 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  in 

not  made.  It  is  in  the  making.  It  has 
today  to  meet  an  impending  crisis,  as  menacing  as 
any  in  the  nation's  history.  It  does  not  call  a  sound 
to  arms,  but  it  is  none  the  less  a  call  to  patriotism 
and  to  higher  ideals  in  citizenship,  a  call  for  the 
preservation  of  the  representative  character  of  gov 
ernment  itself.  If  we  would  preserve  the  spirit  as 
well  as  the  form  of  our  free  institutions,  the  patrio 
tic  citizenship  of  the  country  must  take  its  stand, 
and  demand  of  wealth  that  it  shall  conduct  its  busi 
ness  lawfully ;  that  it  shall  no  longer  furnish  the 
most  flagrant  examples  of  persistent  violation  of 
statutes,  while  invoking  the  protection  of  the  courts ; 
that  it  shall  not  destroy  the  equality  of  opportunity, 
the  right  to  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  guaranteed  by 
the  constitution ;  that  it  shall  keep  its  powerful  hands 
off  from  legislative  manipulation;  that  it  shall  not 
corrupt,  but  shall  obey,  the  government  that  guards 
and  protects  its  rights. 

Mere  passive  good  citizenship  is  not  enough.  Men 
must  be  aggressive  for  what  is  right,  if  government 
is  to  be  saved  from  those  \vho  are  aggressive  for 
\\  hat  is  wrong.  The  nation  has  awakened  sotne- 
what  slowly  to  a  realization  of  its  peril,  but  it  has 
responded  with  gathering  momentum.  The  reform 
movement  now  has  the  support  of  all  the  moral 
forces  that  the  solution  of  a  great  problem  can  com 
mand.  The  outlook  is  hopeful.  There  is  no  room 
for  pessimism.  Every  man  should  have  faith.  Ad 
vance  ground  has  been  secured  which  will  never  be 
surrendered  by  the  American  people.  There  is  work 
for  every  one.  The  field  is  large.  It  is  a  glorious 
service,  this  service  for  the  country.  The  call  comes 


ii2  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

to  every  citizen.  It  is  an  unending  struggle  to  make 
and  keep  government  truly  representative.  Each 
one  should  count  it  a  patriotic  duty  to  build  at  least 
a  part  of  his  life  into  the  life  of  his  country,  to  do 
his  share  in  the  making  of  America  according  to  the 
plan  of  the  fathers. 

Introduction  to  "The  Making  of  America,"  1905. 

The  People  and  Private  Monopoly 

The  American  people  believe  private  monopoly 
intolerable.  Within  the  last  dozen  years  trusts  and 
combinations  have  been  organized  in  nearly  every 
branch  of  industry.  Competition  has  been  ruth 
lessly  crushed,  extortionate  prices  have  been  exacted 
from  consumers,  independent  business  development 
has  been  arrested,  invention  stifled,  and  the  door  of 
opportunity  has  been  closed,  except  to  large  aggre 
gations  of  capital.  The  public  has  not,  as  a  rule, 
received  any  of  the  resultant  economies  and  bene 
fits  of  combination  which  have  been  so  abundantly 
promised.  But  ordinarily  the  combinations  have 
demonstrated  that  the  hand  of  monopoly  is  deaden 
ing,  and  that  business  may  as  easily  become  too 
lorge  to  be  efficient,  as  remain  too  small.  And  as 
related  to  government,  it  is  everywhere  recognized 
that  trusts  and  combinations  are  today  the  gravest 
danger  menacing  our  free  institutions. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

Crime  of  Guarantee  of  Profits. 
Private  ownership  and  operation  of  the  railroads 
was  a  demonstrated  failure  soon  after  we  entered 
the  European  war.     By  December,  1917,  the  paraly 
sis  of  the  system  was  so  extreme  that  the  govern- 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  113 

ment  took  possession  and  conducted  operation  to 
avert  complete  collapse  of  transportation  and  total 
disaster  in  the  war. 

Shortly  before  the  president  seized  the  roads, 
England,  France  and  Italy  had  notified  him  that 
by  December  first,  owing  to  our  failure  to  supply 
food  to  the  allies,  the  Italian  and  French  armies 
were  short-rationed  and  would  certainly  revolt  if 
further  reduction  in  rations  were  made. 

Throughout  our  own  country  there  was  great  suf 
fering  because  of  the  failure  of  the  railroads  to  move 
the  traffic.  Transportation  \vas  stalled.  People 
could  not  obtain  fuel  and  yet  the  railroad  yards  in 
all  the  great  cities  were  literally  jammed  with 
loaded  coal  cars.  Train  loads  of  grain,  provisions 
and  general  supplies  blockaded  the  side  tracks  from 
the  Atlantic  seaboard  to  the  Rocky  mountains. 
There  was  a  shortage  of  engines  and  cars  on  every 
road  in  the  country. 

The  end  was  in  sight.  The  transportation  of  food 
and  war  munitions  to  sustain  our  own  and  the 
allied  armies  could  not  be  longer  delayed  and  escape 
utter  disaster.  The  government  was  forced  to  act 
and  to  act  at  once. 

The  failure  of  private  ownership  and  operation 
had  plainly  been  inevitable  for  years.  It  only  re 
quired  the  increased  demands  of  war  traffic  to  reveal 
the  inherent  weakness  and  hasten  the  failure  of  the 
entire  transportation  system  under  private  owner 
ship  and  operation. 

The  primary  cause  of  it  all  is  as  plain  as  a  pike 
staff  :  You  cannot  successfully  yoke  private  monop 
oly  with  an  honest,  impartial  public  service.  The 


H4  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

whole  railroad  transportation  system  has  from  the 
beginning  carried  the  enormous  burden  of  a  double 
capitalization.  No  business  can  overload  itself  with 
a  fictitious  capital  account  and  maintain  its  property 
in  a  sound  healthy  condition. 

The  railroads  would  have  broken  down  and  gone 
into  receiverships  decades  ago  but  for  the  fact  that 
they  have  been  permitted  to  force  from  the  public  a 
return  in  exorbitant  rates,  sufficient  to  float  their 
watered  capitalization. 

And  now  it  is  proposed  by  the  pending  measures 
dealing  with  this  vital  problem — the  Cummins  Bill 
and  the  Esch  Bill, — to  perpetuate  all  the  wrongs 
and  oppression  of  this  private  monopoly  under  a 
scheme  of  guarantees  to  watered  capital,  that  must 
inevitably  burden  the  traffic  of  the  country  with 
increased  rates,  running  into  untold  billions. 

This  is  the  price  which  the  public  must  pay  to 
"re-establish  railroad  credit." 

Before  we  joined  in  a  crusade  with  Great  Britain 
to  make  Egypt  and  India  and  China  and  Ireland 
and  the  good  old  United  States  unsafe  for  democ 
racy,  before  senators  and  representatives  acquired 
the  habit  of  voting  the  people's  money  out  of  their 
treasury  like  drunken  sailors,  these  same  public 
officials  would  have  regarded  support  of  the  Cum 
mins  or  the  Esch  Bills  as  a  bargain  with  political 
suicide.  But  woe  unto  him  who  today  dares  ques 
tion  the  merit  or  the  magnitude  of  any  raid  on  the 
treasury  at  the  behest  of  the  masters  of  private 
monopoly ! 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  January,   1920. 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  115 

The  Only  Way  Out 

Are  the  trusts  and  combinations  stronger  than  the 
government  itself?  That  is  the  supreme  issue.  Can 
the  people  free  themselves  from  this  power?  Can 
the  unjust  burden  of  fraudulent  capitalization  be 
lifted  from  them? 

The  trusts  and  combinations,  the  railroads,  the 
steel  trust,  the  coal  trust,  all  are  scheming  to  secure 
some  action  by  the  government  which  will  legalize 
their  proceedings  and  sanction  their  fictitious  capi 
talization.  The  situation  is  critical.  It  may  be 
expected  from  the  attitude  of  the  supreme  court 
as  shown  in  the  Standard  Oil  and  Tobacco  cases, 
that  any  act  on  the  part  of  the  executive  or  the  leg 
islative  branch  of  government,  giving  countenance 
to  a  trust  or  combination  will  be  construed  as  an 
approval  of  the  thousands  of  millions  of  watered 
stocks  and  bonds  issued,  and  will  fasten  upon  the 
people  for  all  time  the  speculative  capitalization  of 
our  public  service  and  business  corporations. 

The  time  is  at  hand  to  declare  for  a  statute  which 
shall  make  it  everlastingly  impossible  for  any  presi 
dent,  or  any  congress,  or  any  court,  to  legalize 
spurious  capitalization  as  a  basis  of  extortionate 
prices. 

The  progressive  republican  platform  must  take 
advance  ground  upon  this  question. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  March  16,  1912. 

Against  Court  of  Commerce 

This  bill,  Mr.  President,  is  the  boldest  raid  upon 
public  rights,  in  the  form  of  legislation  on  this  great 


n6  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

subject,  that  the  system  has  ever  succeeded  in  forc 
ing  upon  the  serious  consideration  of  congress. 

Never  before  has  it  attempted,  with  the  support 
of  the  national  administration  and  of  the  party  in 
congress,  to  legislate  for  special  privilege  and 
against  the  public  interest,  and  to  foster  irrevocably 
upon  the  commerce  of  the  country  the  public  bur 
den  of  transportation  charges  to  pay  interest  and 
dividends  upon  all  the  watered  stocks  and  bonds 
which  unrestrained  corporate  greed  has  set  afloat 
in  the  financial  channels  of  this  country. 

If  the  consolidation,  combination,  and  merger, 
to  which  I  shall  invite  the  attention  of  the  senate, 
was  not  a  violation  of  the  anti-trust  law,  and  the 
attorney  general  has,  in  effect,  so  decided,  then  we 
might  well  strike  from  this  bill  the  provisions  which 
profess  to  save  the  anti-trust  law  from  repeal  as  to 
interstate  railroads,  and  openly  confess  the  real  pur 
pose  of  this  proposed  legislation. 

Mr.  President,  if  the  federal  anti-trust  law  can 
be  repealed  by  a  state  legislature,  if  the  department 
of  justice  at  Washington  will  hold  conferences  with 
and  lend  countenance  to  the  agents  of  law-breaking 
corporations  while  they  are  engaged  in  lobbying 
through  state  legislatures,  a  pretended  sanction  of 
their  violation  of  the  criminal  statutes  of  the  federal 
government,  and  then  by  official  edict  make  such 
state  statutes  a  shield  and  cover  under  which  the 
criminal  corporations  may  go  unwhipped  of  justice, 
if  the  door  of  the  federal  court  may  thus  be  closed 
in  the  face  of  a  wronged  and  outraged  public  by 
the  attorney  general  of  the  United  States,  then,  sir, 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  117 

the   law  becomes   a   black  art  and  justice  a   mere 
juggler's  pawn. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  April  12,  1910. 

(Note — The  extracts  given  above  are  from  a  nota 
ble  speech  by  Senator  La  Follette  against  the  bill 
to  create  a  court  of  commerce.  It  is  sometimes 
called  the  New  Haven  railroad  speech  from  the  fact 
that  he  drew  his  arguments  from  the  exploitation 
of  this  road.) 

The  Non-Partisan  League 

So,  I  have  faith  that  this  new  movement  up  here 
known  as  the  non-partisan  organization,  born  on 
the  farms  of  this  old  northwest  territory,  contains 
within  it  the  seeds  of  a  great  social  and  political 
advancement.  And,  Mr.  President,  and  fellow-citi 
zens,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  know  you  will  pardon 
me  for  harking  back  to  the  old  granger  movement — 
I  am  constrained  to  believe  that  this  new  movement 
is  another  crop  of  the  seed  of  that  time.  Now,  fel 
low-citizens,  there  would  not  be  the  slightest  occa 
sion  in  the  world  for  the  organization  of  a  non-parti 
san  league ;  and  you  would  not  be  able  to  enlist  the 
farmers  of  a  dozen  or  fifteen  or  twenty  states  in 
this  union  unless  there  was  something  fundament 
ally  wrong  with  our  government.  There  is  some 
thing  fundamentally  wrong  with  it.  Of  course,  I 
know  the  fellows  who  are  waving  the  flags  today 
most  frantically,  the  bloated  representatives  of 
wealth  who  are  shouting  loudest  for  democracy 
today,  are  trying  to  invest  this  particular  time  with 
a  new  form  of  democracy;  a  democracy  that  has 


n8  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

attached  to  it  as  a  cardinal  principle,  not  liberty,  not 
equality,  but  profit. 

Now,  I  do  not  take  the  political  dope  of  any 
papers  that  serve  interests  hostile  to  representative 
government.  Fellow-citizens,  I  come  before  you 
here  tonight  to  talk  to  you  particularly  about  this 
great  movement  you  have  adopted  up  here,  and  to 
give  you  a  word  of  encouragement,  to  bid  you  to 
be  brave,  not  to  be  intimidated  because  there  may 
chance  to  be  sneaking  about  here  and  there  men 
who  will  pull  back  their  coats  and  show  a  secret 
service  badge.  Until  Bunker  Hill  is  destroyed,  until 
Little  Round  Top  and  the  Hornet's  Nest  at  Gettys 
burg  shall  have  been  obliterated  and  relegated  to 
oblivion,  there  shall  be  free  speech  in  this  country. 
Mr.  President,  I  have  stood  all  my  life  for  law  and 
order.  Twenty  years  ago  this  very  season  at  a 
little  farmers'  gathering  in  Fern  Dell,  Wisconsin,  I 
opened  the  fight  against  corporate  power  in  that 
state.  I  was  denounced  then  as  the  non-partisan 
league  has  been  denounced  now.  I  was  denounced 
then  as  an  iconoclast  and  a  destroyer  of  conditions 
that  ought  to  be  preserved  just  as  some  of  the 
advanced  thinkers  of  today  are  denounced  for  pro 
claiming  not  a  new  doctrine,  but  the  doctrine  of 
Franklin  and  Madison  and  Adams  and  Thomas 
Jefferson.  What  was  the  central  thought  of  the 
little  speech  I  delivered  on  that  day?  It  was  only 
this,  that  the  corporations  in  Wisconsin  were  not 
paying  their  fair  share  of  the  taxes,  and  that  they 
ought  to  be  made  to  pay  them,  just  as  the  farmers 
and  owners  of  lands  did ;  that  was  all,  but  that  was 
considered  treason,  just  as  the  same  things  are 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  119 

denounced  as  disloyal  today;  but,  fellow-citizens, 
I  did  not  stop  then,  and  I  won't  stop  now.  And 
then,  twenty  years  ago,  I  was  asking  for  justice  and 
equality  in  government,  in  taxation,  and,  fellow- 
citizens.  I  came  from  Washington  directly  here,  and 
on  the  floor  of  the  house  of  representatives  and  in 
the  committee  on  finance,  the  greatest  committee 
in  the  senate.  I  have  been  struggling  for  this  same 
thing  that  I  struggled  for  down  at  the  Fern  Dell 
picnic  in  Wisconsin  twenty  years  ago.  There  is 
not  a  shade  of  difference  in  principle.  The  only 
difference  lies  in  the  fact  that  where  we  in  Wiscon 
sin  were  considering  thousands  and  hundreds  of 
thousands,  in  this  great  government  of  ours  and  in 
the  times  in  which  we  find  ourselves  now,  we  are 
considering  billions  upon  billions  beyond  the  power 
of  the  human  mind  to  grasp ;  that  is  the  only  differ 
ence.  A  little  handful  of  men  in  Washington  have 
been  demanding — only  a  little  handful  of  men- 
have  been  demanding  that  the  taxation  should  be 
laid  according  to  the  principles  that  prevail  wher 
ever  justice  prevails,  that  taxation  shall  be  laid 
according  to  the  ability  of  the  property  to  meet  the 
taxes.  We  have  been  contending  for  that  principle 
in  the  first  speech  made  on  the  27th  of  August, 
1897,  to  a  farmers'  picnic  in  Fern  Dell,  Wisconsin, 
which  opened  the  campaign  that  lasted  through  a 
decade  or  a  decade  and  a  half  of  time. 

Speech  Before  Minnesota  Non-Partisan 

League,  Sept.  20,  1917. 


i2o  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

How  Monopoly's  Grip  Could  be  Broken 

MR.  KING.  I  was  very  much  interested  in  the 
statement  of  the  Senator.  *  *  *  I  was  glad  to  hear 
the  Senator  say — and  I  wish  to  see  if  I  understand 
his  position  in  that  respect — that  the  Government 
cannot  by  attempting  to  fix  prices  effectuate  the  ob 
jects  so  many  people  are  seeking  now  to  bring 
about;  that  if  we  would  enforce  the  laws  against 
trusts  and  monopolies  and  allow  the  free  play  of 
the  law  of  supply  and  demand  and  the  economic 
forces  of  the  country,  we  should  have  nothing  to 
fear  with  respect  to  the  industrial  freedom  of  the 
American  people  or  the  progress  and  growth  and 
development  of  our  country.  Have  I  interpreted 
generally  the  attitude  of  the  Senator? 

MR.  LA  FOLLETTE.  Mr.  President,  of  course, 
right  out  of  hand  on  the  moment  one  would  hardly 
be  expected,  I  suppose,  more  than  to  suggest  reme 
dies  to  restore  to  our  people  their  industrial  free 
dom. 

I  want  to  see  broken,  first  of  all,  this  artificial 
power  which  controls  prices  and  production  by 
agreement  and  which,  in  violation  of  law,  is  able  to 
dictate  the  market  prices  of  raw  materials  and  fin 
ished  products  for  practically  all  of  the  products  of 
this  country.  I  would  break  that  power. 

I  would  enforce  the  law  firmly  and  relentlessly  as 
to  the  wrongdoers. 

I  would  press  for  the  freedom  of  all  business  from 
unlawful  control  as  rapidly  as  the  business  of  the 
country  could  be  readjusted  to  the  natural  laws  of 
trade. 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  121 

I  do  not  underestimate  the  magnitude  of  the  task. 
The  failure  of  every  President  to  keep  faith  with 
the  people  and  enforce  the  law  has  aided  to  intrench 
lawless  monopoly  in  business  throughout  the  land. 

It  has  so  long  ruled  in  business  and  government 
that  it  scoffs  at  authority. 

It  has  had  its  way  alike  with  Republican  and 
Democratic  administrations. 

It  has  its  "rough-neck"  daily  press  to  manhandle 
any  troublesome  public  official.  It  has  its  "high 
brow"  weekly  and  monthly  publications  which  criti 
cize  in  choice  diction  any  suggestion  of  curing  ex 
isting  evils  by  "putting  a  few  gentlemen  in  jail"  and 
then  vaguely  prescribe  "a  better  adjustment  of  dis 
tribution." 

But  it  is  high  time  for  us  to  realize  that  the  pub 
lic  will  not  submit  longer  to  be  juggled  with.  The 
Government  must  soon  make  its  choice.  It  must 
destroy  private  monopoly  wherever  it  exists  in  this 
country  or  monopoly  will  destroy  government. 

It  will  not  be  possible  to  restore  industrial  and 
commercial  freedom  at  once. 

Unrestrained  lawless  wealth  in  combination  has 
run  amuck  for  a  score  of  years,  until  it  has  so  in 
volved  our  entire  industrial  and  commercial  struc 
ture  that  to  attempt  to  effect  a  radical  and  immedi 
ate  cure  would  endanger  the  whole  structure. 

But  we  must  make  a  beginning.  We  must  make 
that  beginning  at  once  if  we  would  avert  disaster. 

If  I  had  the  power,  I  would  start  with  the  United 
States  Steel  Corporation.  I  would  begin  there,  be 
cause  iron  is  the  basis  of  everything  in  the  indus 
trial  life  of  any  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 


122  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

It  is  really  staggering  to  think  what  iron  means. 
There  is  not  a  great  architectural  structure  in  the 
world  that  would  be  standing  tomorrow  morning  if 
iron  turned  to  dust  overnight.  *  *  *  There  would 
not  be  a  railroad  line  anywhere,  there  would  not  be 
a  wheel  turning,  there  would  not  be  a  blacksmith 
shop  stand,  there  would  not  be  an  agricultural  im 
plement  in  existence,  if  iron  in  all  its  forms  were 
destroyed.  Did  you  ever  stop  to  think  of  the  extent 
to  which  the  price  of  iron  and  its  products  controls 
the  price  of  everything? 

So  I  would  begin  with  iron.  I  would  take  the 
actual  valuation  of  all  of  the  property  of  the  United 
States  Steel  Trust.  I  would  ascertain  the  actual 
investment  in  the  business.  I  would  not  give  them 
credit  for  a  dollar  of  value  which  is  the  result  of 
their  monopoly  control,  but  only  that  which  they 
had  actually  invested  in  the  business,  together  with 
a  fair  return  upon  the  investment. 

Then,  Mr.  President,  taking  their  actual  invest 
ment  in  their  manufacturing  plant  and  allowing 
them  a  reasonable  return  on  the  investment,  I  would 
make  public  a  fair  and  reasonable  price  list  on  their 
manufactures — pig  iron,  billets,  merchantable  iron 
and  steel  rails,  structural  shapes — all  their  manu 
factures  of  iron  and  steel,  and  would  allow  a  rea 
sonable  measure  of  time  for  public  opinion  to  en 
force  an  observance  of  such  fair  and  reasonable  price 
list. 

Their  failure  to  adjust  the  selling  prices  of  their 
manufactures  of  steel  and  iron  to  the  fair-price  list 
published  by  the  Government  would  invite  to  more 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  123 

drastic  action  by  the  Government  in  dealing  with 
them. 

But,  sir,  I  would  proceed  in  a  much  more  radical 
way  as  to  their  raw  material. 

I  would  condemn  and  take  away  from  them  such 
of  their  holdings  as  would  be  called  raw  material— 
or  natural  resources.  I  would  have  the  Government 
take  back  the  title  to  its  iron  ore  and  coal  and  cop 
per  and  timber  and  the  other  natural  products. 
Then  I  would  maintain  such  an  absolute  control 
of  the  production  and  the  prices  of  those  basic  pro 
ducts,  either  by  a  strict  leasing  system  or  by  actual 
Government  operation,  or  both,  that  every  manufac 
turer,  small  as  well  as  large,  should  have  an  equal 
opportunity  to  get  the  raw  material  at  the  same 
price.  I  would  do  that  for  the  purpose  of  restoring 
competitive  conditions  at  the  very  foundation  of  all 
manufactured  production. 

I  would  apply  the  same  method  to  all  others  who 
own  the  great  primary  products  that  may  be  called, 
in  a  general  way,  the  resources  of  nature.  I  would 
have  the  Government  hold  the  title  to  and  maintain 
the  absolute  control  of  all  these  primary  products. 
1  would  try,  perhaps,  operating  them  under  a  strong 
leasing  system,  under  which  the  Government  should 
control  prices. 

But  I  would  introduce  a  limited  amount  of  Gov 
ernment  operation  in  various  lines  of  production, 
to  the  end  that  we  might  have  a  measure,  a  stand 
ard  of  fair  production  cost  and  fair  selling  price.  I 
would  try  that  as  an  initial  proceeding  for  the  ulti 
mate  achievement  of  industrial  freedom. 


124  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

That  may  be  temporizing,  but  I  would  try  that  to 
give  the  old  theory  of  individual  initiative  its  fair 
chance,  and  if  that  experiment  failed,  then  I  would 
go  after  Government  operation  of  all  those  basic 
essentials,  absolutely ;  and  in  the  meantime  I  would 
not  hesitate  at  all  about  Government  control  and 
ownership  of  all  transportation  and  all  lines  of  com 
munication — everything  of  that  character. 

I  expect  to  stand  here  and  make  a  fight  alone  for 
Government  ownership  and  control  of  the  railroads. 
I  am  for  Government  ownership  of  railroads  and 
every  other  public  utility — every  one — and  I  pro 
pose  to  show  on  this  floor  that  where  it  has  ever 
been  given  a  fair  chance  in  any  part  of  the  world 
that  it  has  been  successful.  I  am  going  to  show 
that  the  "cards  were  stacked"  on  Government  oper 
ation  here  in  this  country  during  the  war  period  by 
those  who  wrere  interested  and  that  it  was  not  pos 
sible  for  Government  operation  to  make  a  fair  show 
ing. 

I  do  not  know  whether  I  have  answered  the  ques 
tion  of  the  Senator  from  Utah  (Mr.  King)  or  not, 
but  I  have  at  least  tried  to  do  so  frankly. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Aug.  29,  1919. 

Monopoly  Cause  of  High  Prices 

Do  you  not  understand  that  *  *  *  down  to  20 
years  ago  the  price  of  every  manufactured  commod 
ity  that  any  body  of  organized  society  bought  grad 
ually  declined?  Why?  Because  methods  of  pro 
duction  were  improved  and  there  was  competition 
between  the  producers  that  kept  profits  at  a  rea 
sonable  level.  About  1897  they  began  to  combine 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  125 

to  suppress  competition  and  to  control  the  markets, 
and  from  that  hour,  if  you  will  consult  the  statistics 
for  20  years  you  will  find  that  the  price  of  every 
thing  you  have  had  to  buy  has  increased  in  this 
country.  Why?  Because  combinations  and  trusts 
were  formed  to  control  the  prices ;  to  take  the  bene 
fits  of  the  improvements  for  those  who  owned  the 
factories  and  parasitical  middlemen  and  to  give 
none  to  the  laborers,  and  to  give  none  to  the  con 
sumers. 

That  is  what  this  thing  means ;  that  is  the  mean 
ing  of  this  great  struggle.  That  is  the  biggest  prob 
lem  that  confronts  you.  It  is  not  Shantung;  it  is 
not  the  League  of  Nations ;  it  is  not  the  treaty  made 
at  Versailles ;  but  it  is  whether  you  can  save  democ 
racy  in  the  United  States.  That  is  the  fundamental 
problem  of  the  American  people.  The  power  that  is 
trying  to  take  the  Naval  Reserves  is  only  one  of  the 
many  that  is  encroaching  upon  the  rights  of  the 
American  people  and  upon  their  democracy. 

Mr.  President,  I  say  that  it  lies  with  the  people  of 
tins  country  to  settle  this  great  problem  and  to  settle 
it  under  the  Constitution  without  violence. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Aug.  29,  1919. 

Strikes  and  Monopoly 

We  have  strikes  on  every  hand.  Senators  have 
attempted  here  by  resolutions  and  by  speeches  on 
the  floor  to  intimidate  and  to  restrain  labor  and  to 
restrict  free  speech  in  this  country  not  only  in  time 
of  war,  but  after.  The  American  people  are  patient 
people,  but  it  is  possible  to  push  things  too  far.  Is 
it  not  worth  while  for  enlightened,  conservative 


126  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

statesmanship  to  stop  and  consider  this  situation  so 
that  effective  steps  can  be  taken  to  meet  these  is 
sues?  We  must  curb  this  mighty  monopoly  power 
and  give  to  the  people  of  this  country  a  free,  open, 
competitive  market,  and  free,  open,  competitive  con 
ditions  under  which  they  may  buy  the  products  of 
all  manufacturing  and  producing  organizations  in 
this  country  at  reasonable  prices  regulated  by  com 
petition. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Aug.  29,  1919. 

Monopoly  and  Radicalism 

I  have  said  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  again  and 
again  that  there  is  not  any  way  of  accounting  for 
the  increase  in  the  cost  of  living  excepting  that  we 
are  in  the  grip  of  monopoly.  You  have  built  up, 
in  the  first  place,  a  protective  system  and  shut  off 
foreign  competition,  and  you  have  left  it  to  the  fel 
lows  inside  of  the  tariff  wall  to  fix  the  prices  and, 
by  combination,  they  have  fixed  the  prices  as  high 
as  they  pleased,  and  they  have  destroyed  competi 
tion,  and  as  a  result  of  that  they  have  taken  out  of 
the  American  public  just  what  profits  they  pleased, 
and  Congress  has  sat  by  and  permitted  that  thing 
to  be  done. 

There  is  no  justification  for  it.  It  is  a  betrayal  of 
everything  that  goes  to  the  heart  of  representative 
government.  It  has  builded  up  the  conditions  that 
have  led  a  committee  of  this  Senate  to  put  into  this 
bill  a  proposition  to  appropriate  $2,000,000  to  sup 
press  radicalism  in  this  country.  Do  you  think  you 
could  have  a  government,  representing  just  simply 
those  who  have  an  opportunity  to  take  out  of  the 


Trusts  and  Monopolies  127 

people  of  this  country  whatever  prices  they  please 
for  the  things  they  produce,  and  not  have  criticism 
of  your  government? 

I  say,  Mr.  President,  right  now  that  in  20  years 
this  Government  has  not  been  representative  of  the 
public  interests.  I  think  that  this  Government  has 
been  representing  the  interests  of  combinations  and 
trusts  and  great  aggregations  of  capital  and  no  man 
can  successfully  deny  that.  *  *  *  I  have  said  it  a 
good  many  times  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  and  I 
am  going  to  keep  on  saying  it  as  long  as  I  live,  as 
long  as  I  am  a  member  of  this  body. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  June  28,  1919. 

Prices  and  Cost  of  Production 

From  1897  down  to  the  time  that  the  war  began, 
prices  advanced  every  year  on  the  products  con 
sumed  in  this  country.  Now,  I  say  that  is  unjust, 
that  is  wrong,  and  this  is  so  only  because  the  Gov 
ernment  did  not  serve  the  people.  *  *  * 

Senators  draw  their  salaries,  and  sit  behind  these 
desks,  and  let  this  thing  go  on,  and  then  pile  law 
on  law  to  repress  criticism  because  it  is  so !  *  *  * 

I  am  not  talking  of  the  war  period,  but  before  the 
war,  from  1897,  down  to  the  war  period.  *  *  * 
Study  Dun's  and  Bradstreet's  and  you  will  find  that 
it  increased  every  year.  Why  should  it  increase? 
It  increased  because  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  and  the  executive  departments  did  not  serve 
the  public  interests.  *  *  *  It  increased  because  the 
aggregations  of  capital  were  permitted  to  defy  the 
law  of  competition  and  fix  prices  as  they  pleased. 
Why?  Why  did  not  prices  fall?  Did  you  ever 


128  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

know  of  a  period  of  invention  that  was  comparable 
to  it?  There  never  was.  From  1897  down  to  the 
year  1914  Yankee  ingenuity  and  invention  revolu 
tionized  the  cost  of  production,  and  yet  the  prices 
increased  upon  the  people  of  this  country.  Tell  me 
if  you  were  doing  your  duty  and  the  executive  de 
partment  was  doing  its  duty,  when  you  had  a  law 
on  the  statute  books  that  said  that  there  should  be 
no  control  of  prices  against  public  interest ;  why 
\\ere  these  combinations  permitted  to  ignore  and 
'defy  the  law?  You  cannot  name  to  me  a  single  in 
dustry  in  the  United  States  that  has  not  cut  the 
cost  of  production  in  two  again  and  again  from 
1897  down  to  1914,  and  yet  the  cost  to  the  consumer 
has  mounted  steadily  every  year. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  June  28,  1919. 


VII. 

LABOR  AND  ITS  RIGHTS 


The  Dignity  of  Manual  Labor 

HAVE  always  had  respect  for  the  man 
who  labors  with  his  hands.  My  own 
life  began  that  way.  Manual  labor, 
industry,  the  doing  of  a  good  day's 
work,  was  the  thing  that  gave  a  man 
standing  and  credit  in  the  country  neighborhood 
wrhere  I  grew  up.  We  all  worked  hard  at  home, 
and  the  best  people  I  ever  knew  worked  with 
their  hands.  I  have  always  had  a  feeling  of  kinship 
for  the  fellow  who  carries  the  load — the  man  on 
the  under  side.  I  understand  the  man  who  works, 
and  I  think  he  has  always  understood  me. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

Protection  to  Railroad  Employees 

To  your  careful  consideration  I  recommend  the 
question  of  more  efficient  protection  to  employees 
of  railroad  companies  who  may  be  injured  in  the 
discharge  of  their  duties,  through  carelessness  or 
negligence  of  other  employees  or  agents  of  the  com 
pany.  Of  itself  the  employment  is  in  most  instances 
extremely  hazardous  to  the  employee.  In  the  dis 
charge  of  his  duties  he  is  frequently  required  not 
only  to  risk  his  life  to  save  other  lives,  but  he  must 
jeopardize  it  to  protect  the  property  of  the  company 


130  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

and  of  the  public.  The  duties  of  these  men  are 
quasi-public.  The  most  efficient  service  that  they 
can  give  is  due  to  the  public  in  the  protection  of 
life  and  property,  the  safety  of  which  depends  upon 
their  fidelity  and  courage.  No  man  should  be  called 
to  the  discharge  of  such  duties  without  assured 
compensation  for  injuries  which  he  may  receive 
through  no  fault  of  his  own,  or  without  reasonable 
provision  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  wife, 
children,  or  other  dependents,  if  his  life  be  destroyed 
in  the  performance  of  his  duty. 

Message  to  Legislature,  Jan.  15,  1903. 

The   Courts  and  Labor  Combinations 

There  is  one  class  of  so-called  restraints  of  trade 
that  was  not  intended,  or  at  least  not  understood, 
to  come  under  the  prohibitions  of  the  Sherman  anti 
trust  law.  These  are  labor  organizations.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  about  the  enforcement  of  the  law  that, 
while  the  courts  have  carefully  protected  investors 
in  trusts  against  loss  of  values,  the  only  instance 
where  the  extreme  penalty  of  three-fold  damages 
has  been  imposed  is  in  the  case  of  a  labor  organiza 
tion.  The  court  has  gone  to  the  extent  of  seizing 
upon  the  savings  of  members  of  a  labor  organization 
and  has  ordered  that  these  little  investments  should 
be  paid  over,  as  far  as  they  go,  toward  giving  the 
employers  three  times  the  damages  that  the  union 
had  caused  to  them.  Certainly  it  is  very  strange 
that  when  the  court  goes  to  its  furthest  limit  in 
imposing  penalties  on  combinations  of  capital,  all 
of  the  capitalist  owners  get  away  with  the  full  value 
of  their  property,  even  though  the  court  explicitly 


Labor  and  Its  Rights  131 

says  that  the  biggest  ones  committed  crimes  in 
getting  it;  but  when  the  court  goes  to  the  same 
limit  in  enforcing  penalties  on  combinations  of 
labor,  it  takes  away  the  homes  and  small  savings 
of  the  guilty  members.  A  law  which  treats  invest 
ors  as  innocent  if  they  form  a  trust,  and  guilty  if 
they  form  a  labor  union,  does  not  command  the 
respect,  nor  appeal  to  the  sense  of  justice  of  the 
American  people.  The  fact  is,  the  law  was  not 
understood  by  the  people  to  apply  to  labor  organi 
zations,  and  it  is  a  mistaken  judicial  construction 
that  has  made  it  so  apply.  The  law  should  be 
amended,  so  as  to  get  back  to  its  original  intent,  by 
taking  out  from  under  its  operation  all  labor  organi 
zations  and  all  employers'  associations.  These  are 
combinations  which  do  not  regulate  the  prices  of 
commodities,  but  they  regulate  the  wages  and  con 
ditions  of  labor. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  1910. 

The  Taylor  System 

Mr.  President,  it  behooves  us  not  to  stand  for 
any  of  the  exactions  upon  labor  which  \vould 
grind  the  last  ounce  of  work  out  of  the  toilers  of 
this  country  by  any  process  of  sweating.  I  care 
not  what  may  be  used,  whether  the  stop  watch  be 
held  over  the  operative  or  \vhether  men  who  have 
the  co-ordination  of  mental,  nervous,  and  muscular 
organization  to  enable  them  to  win  are  tempted  by 
a  bonus  system  to  strive  for  the  prizes  and  drive 
their  competitors,  their  fellow  workmen  to  the 
breaking-down  point. 


132  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Mr.  President,  it  is  nothing  but  a  "sweating  sys 
tem."  It  drives  men  to  perform  a  given  number  of 
motions  within  a  fixed  time.  It  offers  a  premium 
to  men  who  can  do  that  thing;  it.  subjects  men  who 
are  by  nature  differently  organized  mentally,  physi 
cally,  and  nervously  to  a  strain  under  which  they 
are  broken  down. 

I  remember  well,  Mr.  President,  when  I  stood 
some  years  ago  upon  this  floor  appealing  to  mem 
bers  of  this  body  to  pass  a  bill  fixing  16  hours  as 
the  limit  of  time  that  men  engaged  in  conducting 
the  train  service  of  the  country  should  be  permitted 
to  work  without  interruption,  there  were  engineers 
and  conductors  and  other  trainmen  who  objected 
to  having  any  limitation  put  upon  the  number  of 
hours  that  they  might  be  permitted  to  operate  a 
train,  because  there  were  a  compartively  few  who 
could  run  a  train  36  hours,  40  hours,  perhaps  72 
hours,  and  keep  awake,  keep  their  faculties  concen 
trated  upon  their  work,  and  earn  a  larger  sum  each 
month.  They  did  not  want  any  limitation  upon  the 
number  of  hours  that  they  should  be  permitted  to 
operate  trains;  but,  Mr.  President,  the  public  has 
some  rights  in  these  matters ;  it  has  some  rights 
in  every  question  which  involves  labor  generally. 

It  had  in  that  particular  case  some  rights  in  addi 
tion  to  that;  it  had  some  rights  as  to  the  safety  of 
interstate  transportation.  Against  the  wishes  of 
some  of  the  engineers  and  conductors  and  trainmen 
of  the  country,  I  remember  I,  with  some  others 
upon  this  floor,  stood  here  and  fought  for  a  limita 
tion  upon  the  hours  of  service  of  the  men  operat 
ing  the  trains  of  the  country.  The  great  body  of 


Labor  and  Its  Rights  133 

the  trainmen  were  in  favor  of  a  limitation.  The 
great  body  of  the  trainmen  today  are  in  favor  of  a 
much  greater  limitation  than  the  i6-hour  limitation 
which,  after  a  long  struggle,  we  succeeded  in  put 
ting  upon  the  hours  of  train  service  men. 

Mr.  President,  I  understand  the  author  of  the 
Taylor  system,  in  his  book,  says  that  he  takes  no 
account  of  the  80  per  cent,  who  cannot  come  up  to 
the  high  standards.  Those  who  install  this  system 
say  to  a  manufacturer  or  business  man,  "Permit 
us  to  install  our  system.  For  $100  a  day  our  experts 
\vill  teach  it  to  your  operatives  and  to  your  man 
agers.  By  adopting  this  system,  which  takes  account 
of  every  movement  a  man  makes  and  exacts  of  him 
the  highest  possible  speed,  you  will  be  able  to 
reduce  the  unit  cost  of  the  output  of  your  product 
20  per  cent."  Capital  seizes  upon  that,  sir.  Capital 
takes  no  account  of  what  may  happen  to  the  men 
who  are  thrown  out  of  employment  because  they 
cannot  make  the  given  number  of  motions  within 
the  limited  period. 

Mr.  President,  let  us,  as  we  did  on  yesterday,  by 
a  decisive  vote  hold  to  the  position  taken  and  say 
to  the  House  of  Representatives,  "We  agree  with 
you.  There  shall  be  nothing  left  in  disagreement 
between  the  Senate  and  the  House  on  this  proposition." 

We  will  not  permit  to  be  put  into  this  bill  a  line, 
or  word,  or  a  syllable  that  will  give  the  conferees 
the  opportunity  to  work  out  some  legislation  that 
shall  be  framed  up  by  six  men  and  shall  come  in 
here  in  the  conference  report  in  a  form  that  has  to 
be  accepted  by  the  Senate. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  July  26,  1916. 


134  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

The  Eight-Hour  Law 

The  eight-hour  law  for  railway  trainmen  has  been 
much  misrepresented.  During  the  many  months  of 
negotiations  between  the  trainmen  and  the  railroad 
managers,  the  railroad  companies  conducted  a  tre 
mendous  campaign  in  an  effort  to  influence  public 
sentiment  against  the  granting  of  an  eight-hour 
day  to  their  men.  Their  agents  worked  through 
chambers  of  commerce,  manufacturers'  associations, 
and  other  organizations  of  business  men,  inducing 
them  to  pass  resolutions  condemning  the  demand 
of  the  trainmen,  and  memorializing  congress  to 
enact  legislation  to  empower  the  interstate  com 
merce  commission  to  fix  the  hours  and  wages  of 
men  employed  on  railroads  engaged  in  interstate 
commerce.  All  of  the  big  newspapers,  and  some 
of  the  small  newspapers,  of  the  country  were 
flooded  with  advertisements  putting  before  the  pub 
lic  the  railroads'  side  of  this  controversy.  Millions 
of  dollars  must  have  been  expended  in  this  cam 
paign.  And  these  millions  did  not  come  from  the 
pockets  of  the  railroad  managers  or  the  railroad 
owners.  This  campaign  was  conducted  with  money 
that  really  belonged  to  the  people.  The  shippers 
and  the  passengers  were  made,  in  the  last  analysis, 
to  finance  a  publicity  campaign  to  influence  their 
own  judgment  upon  one  side  of  this  great  question. 

The  railroad  trainmen  had  no  such  resources  to 
enable  them  to  carry  on  a  publicity  campaign  to 
shape  public  opinion  in  favor  of  their  own  demands. 
Nor  did  they  have  the  additional  advantage,  enjoyed 
by  the  railroad  companies,  of  placing  huge,  flam- 


Labor  and  Its  Rights  135 

buoyant  placards  upon  the  walls  of  waiting  rooms 
at  railway  stations  setting  forth  the  case  for  the 
railroads  before  the  traveling  public. 

This  eight-hour  law  has  been  called  a  "force  bill" 
enacted  under  the  demands  of  organized  railroad 
workmen.  This  is  not  true.  The  railroad  employees 
demanded  the  eight-hour  day  from  the  railroads, 
not  from  Congress.  They  made  no  demand  what 
ever  upon  Congress.  They  said  if  the  railroads  did 
not  grant  the  eight-hour  day  they  would  quit  work. 
This  was  their  right — a  right  long  judicially  de 
clared  to  be  theirs.  They  set  a  day  to  quit  work  in 
case  the  railroad  managers  refused  them  the  eight- 
hour  day.  Then  the  railroads  inaugurated  a  strike 
against  the  public.  They  refused  to  accept  freight 
for  shipment,  especially  perishable  goods.  In  many 
parts  of  the  country  this  meant  appalling  disaster 
to  farmers  and  particularly  to  fruit  growers.  It 
meant  great  damage  to  all  business — even  to  the 
railroads  themselves. 

The  president  stepped  in  and  sought  to  adjust  the 
trouble  and  avoid  the  disaster  about  to  be  thrust 
upon  the  country.  He  was  not  successful.  The 
railway  managers  were  particularly  obstinate  and 
refused  to  concede  the  principle  of  the  eight-hour 
day.  At  this  point  the  president  put  the  matter  up 
to  Congress  for  its  consideration.  Congress,  disin 
terested,  under  law  bound  to  consider  only  the 
public  good,  was  forced  to  act  in  the  public  interest. 
It  was  not  forced  to  act  because  of  any  demands 
upon  congress  by  the  workingmen  or  by  the  rail 
road  managers,  but  because  the  public  interest  de 
manded  immediate  action. 


136  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Congress  acted.  It  passed  what  is  known  as  the 
eight-hour  day  law  for  men  in  the  employment  of 
railroads  in  interstate  commerce,  engaged  in  moving 
trains.  Every  Wisconsin  representative  present 
voted  for  the  bill  which  became  a  law  and  averted 
the  strike. 

I  believe  they  did  right.  I  believe  in  the  eight- 
hour  day.  It  is  claimed  that  congress  acted  "with 
out  due  consideration."  Did  it?  The  question  of 
the  eight-hour  day  for  skilled  employees  was  not 
new.  Every  congressman  who  was  alive  to  the 
issues  of  the  day  must  have  been  fairly  familiar 
with  the  arguments  pro  and  con  on  the  subject  of 
the  eight-hour  day.  I  had  given  this  matter  con 
sideration  years  ago  when  I  secured  the  sixteen 
hour  limitation  for  railroad  employees — the  best  I 
could  get  at  that  time. 

At  that  time  I  was  met  with  the  same  arguments 
which  are  now  being  made  against  the  eight-hour 
day.  The  railroads  and  some  other  large  employers 
are  slow  to  learn,  but  abundant  experience  has 
shown  that  for  the  trades,  professions  and  crafts 
where  skill,  courage,  caution  and  close  attention 
to  business  are  required  the  eight-hour  day  is  the 
maximum  for  efficiency.  Had  the  railroads  accepted 
this  principle  there  would  have  been  no  trouble. 

However,  railroads  generally  yield  to  no  principle 
of  progress  that  is  not  forced  upon  them  by  legis 
lation. 

The  dawn  of  a  better  day  would  never  brighten 
the  path  of  workmen  were  it  left  to  the  railroad 
managers. 


Labor  and  Its  Rights  137 

The  railroad  employees  have  been  patient  and 
long-suffering.  Theirs  is  a  hazardous  business. 
Their  calling  takes  them  away  from  their  homes  at 
all  times  of  the  day  and  night,  in  all  kinds  of 
weather.  Their  labor  is  performed  under  dangerous 
conditions.  Their  span  of  life  is  short  and  full  of 
grief.  They  have  seen  their  brothers  in  other  less 
hazardous  callings  secure  the  eight-hour  day  with 
out  a  struggle,  but  they  have  been  held  to  a  day 
of  indefinite  hours  so  long  as  it  did  not  exceed  six 
teen,  and  in  cases  of  unforeseen  trouble  their  day 
might  exceed  sixteen  hours.  I  wonder  that  their 
just  demands  were  not  sooner  made. 

Shorter  Work  Day  Spells  Efficiency 

All  practical  experience  shows  that  shorter  hours 
means  better  health  and  higher  efficiency  of  em 
ployees,  the  quality  of  the  work  and  the  character 
of  the  output  more  than  offsetting  any  loss  from 
cutting  down  the  working  hours  of  the  day.  In 
other  words,  shorter  hours  means  stronger  bodies, 
greater  physical  efficiency,  a  higher  degree  of  men 
tal  alertness,  keener  and  more  intelligent  concentra 
tion  on  the  machinery  and  material  handled  by  the 
wage-earner,  fe\ver  accidents,  added  time  for  home 
life,  rest,  recreation,  and  reading,  all  making  for 
moral,  mental,  and  physical  improvement. 

Congress  has  given  men  employed  by  the  govern 
ment  or  by  contractors  employed  on  government 
work,  the  eight-hour  day.  Wisconsin  provides  by 
law  for  the  eight-hour  day  for  state  work.  Twelve 
states  limit  the  working  day  of  minors  to  eight 
hours  in  one  day. 


138  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

The  courts  have  held  again  and  again  that  rest 
from  labor  one  day  in  seven  is  "essential  for  health, 
morals,  and  general  welfare." 

The  courts  will  ultimately  hold  that  it  is  vital  to 
the  health  and  well-being  of  the  toiler,  and  for  that 
vital  to  the  general  welfare,  that  the  state  should 
limit  the  hours  of  labor  for  the  day  as  it  limits 
the  days  of  labor  for  the  week. 

Let  the  wage-earner  take  heart.  The  eight-hour 
day  will  come,  and  come  soon,  to  all  of  the  skilled 
workers  of  every  state  in  the  nation. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  1915. 

Limiting  Hours  of  Service  of  Trainmen 

The  Railroad  Brotherhood  of  Engineers,  Fire 
men  and  Trainmen,  a  remarkably  intelligent  body 
of  men,  had  long  maintained  a  very  efficient  and 
faithful  legislative  representative,  Mr.  Hugh  Fuller, 
here  at  the  national  capital,  but  they  had  found  it 
impossible  even  to  get  a  record  vote  on  important 
measures  in  which  they  were  interested.  No  bill 
in  their  interests  relating  to  hours  of  service  or 
liability  of  the  employer  for  negligence  was  per 
mitted  to  get  out  of  the  committee.  I  took  up  the 
matter  of  an  Employers'  Liability  Law  and  attempted 
in  1906  to  have  it  adopted  as  an  amendment  to  the 
interstate  commerce  act.  Failing  in  this,  by  an 
unexpected  move  I  got  a  bill  before  the  Senate 
where  I  could  force  a  record  vote.  Now,  no  Sena 
tor  wanted  to  put  himself  wrong  with  the  railway 
employees,  and  so  after  fencing  for  delay  I  finally 
got  it  passed  without  a  roll  call.  This  law,  having 
been  held  unconstitutional  by  the  supreme  court 


Labor  and  Its  Rights  139 

(by  vote  of  five  to  four),  I  introduced  another 
Employers'  Liability  bill  in  the  next  session,  and 
had  it  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education  and 
Labor  (of  which  Dolliver  was  chairman)  instead  of 
to  the  committee  on  interstate  commerce.  This  bill 
was  reported  out  by  Dolliver,  was  passed  and  is  now 
the  law. 

I  also  secured  the  passage  in  1907,  after  much 
opposition  and  filibustering,  of  a  law  to  limit  the 
hours  of  continuous  service  of  railroad  employees. 
This  law  has  been  of  great  use  in  preventing  those 
accidents  which  formerly  arose  from  the  continuous 
employment  of  men  for  twenty-four  or  even  thirty- 
six  hours  without  sleep  or  rest. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

(Note — Senator  La  Follette  scored  two  victories 
in  the  senate  session  of  1907.  One  resulted  from 
his  fight  for  the  passage  of  the  bill  limiting  the 
hours  of  service  of  railroad  employees.  Until  1907 
there  had  been  no  limit  to  the  number  of  hours  a 
railroad  man  might  be  kept  on  duty. 

To  La  Follette  sixteen  consecutive  hours  seemed 
a  longer  day  than  men  who  have  in  their  keeping 
the  lives  and  limbs  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
people  daily  should  be  permitted  to  work,  but  to 
limit  the  hours  of  labor  at  all  was  a  big  step  in  the 
right  direction.  All  manner  of  testimony  was  pre 
sented  to  show  that  many  wrecks  had  been  caused 
because  men  in  charge  of  trains  or  some  part  of  the 
railroad  service  had  been  on  duty  so  long  that  they 
could  no  longer  keep  wide  awake.  Sixteen  hours, 
La  Follette  thought  was  considerable  of  a  conces- 


140  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

sion  to  the  railroads.  But  the  railroads  fought  the 
bill  with  all  the  pressure  and  influence  they  could 
wield.  After  days  of  fighting  La  Follette  succeeded 
in  forcing  through  the  senate,  only  after  the  rail 
roads  had  exhausted  every  trick  of  parliamentary 
practice,  the  bill  limiting  the  hours  of  service  of 
railroad  men  to  sixteen. 

La  Follette's  second  victory  in  the  senate  session 
of  1907  was  the  passage  of  a  new  employers'  liabil 
ity  law  which  established  as  a  principle  of  federal 
law  the  doctrine  of  comparative  negligence.  Here 
tofore  when  an  employee  was  injured  the  employer 
had  but  to  show  that  the  employee  was  guilty  of 
slight  negligence  in  order  to  set  up  a  complete 
defense  in  a  suit  for  personal  injuries.  Under  this 
law  the  fact  that  the  employee  may  have  been  guilty 
of  contributory  negligence  is  no  longer  a  bar  to 
recovery,  if  it  can  be  shown  that  the  employee's 
negligence  was  slight  and  the  employer's  negligence 
was  gross  in  comparison.) 

On  Children's  Bureau 

I  am  loath  to  believe  that  any  member  of  the  Sen 
ate  would  favor  the  reduction  of  the  appropriation 
of  any  reasonable  sum  of  money  which  could  be 
expended  by  the  children's  bureau  in  the  work 
which  it  was  commissioned  to  do  by  the  statute 
which  created  that  bureau.  I  do  not  know  of  any 
way  in  which  we  can  build  so  strongly  into  our 
national  life  as  by  an  intelligent  and  scientific  study 
of  the  child  from  birth. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  you  could  bring  an  audi 
ence  of  laboring  men  to  their  feet — cheering  for  Old 


Labor  and  Its  Rights  141 

Glory  and  what  it  did  for  liberty,  for  freedom,  for 
emancipation ;  but,  Mr.  President,  when  you  grind 
the  faces  of  the  poor,  when  you  force  the  parents 
to  put  children  into  the  factories  in  order  that  they 
may  exist,  when  you  have  little  care  for  the  death 
rate  in  the  homes  where  the  children  of  the  poor 
are  born,  you  are  sowing  the  seed  of  resentment 
against  this  Government  of  professed  equality. 

There  seems  to  be  a  fatal  blindness  upon  the  part 
of  all  of  us,  and  when  the  little  opportunity  is 
afforded  by  the  expenditure  of  $72,000  to  carry  for 
ward  an  investigation  here  that  will  tell  the  story 
of  this  awful  mortality  among  the  children  of  those 
who  work  for  wages,  we  find  it  opposed.  When 
there  is  a  little  opportunity  here  to  let  the  light  into 
the  homes  of  the  toilers  to  know  why  it  is  that  one 
out  of  every  four  babies  of  those  who  earn  $450  a 
year  must  die  before  they  are  12  months  old,  it  is 
to  be  blocked  in  the  interests  of  economy. 

It  may  be,  Mr.  President,  that  I  am  expressing 
undue  feeling  upon  this  matter.  I  am  not  entirely 
a  novice  in  public  affairs.  I  have  spent  almost  my 
whole  life  in  dealing  with  these  questions,  and  I 
am  constrained  to  believe  that  it  behooves  the 
statesmanship  of  this  country  to  give  consideration 
to  these  things  that  concern  the  millions  of  the 
toilers  of  this  country. 

Speech  in  U .  S.  Senate,  January  22,  1917. 

The  La  Follette  Seaman's  Act 

The  act  to  promote  the  welfare  of  American  sea 
men  and  safety  of  life  at  sea,  approved  by  President 
Wilson  March  fourth,  makes  America  sacred  soil 


142  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

and  the  thirteenth  amendment  finally  becomes  a 
covenant  of  refuge  for  the  seamen  of  the  world. 
It  has  taken  a  twenty-one  year  struggle  to  accom 
plish  this  result.' 

The  law  makes  the  sailor  a  free  man. 

It  standardizes  his  skill. 

It  limits  the  number  of  hours  of  continuous  service. 

It  provides  better  conditions  of  living  for  him  on 
shipboard, — more  food,  more  water,  more  light,  and 
air,  larger  and  more  sanitary  sleeping  and  living 
space,  and  a  hospital  section  separate  and  apart 
from  that  portion  of  the  vessel  in  which  the  sailors 
must  sleep  and  eat. 

While  the  law  does  not  completely  safeguard  the 
public  interest,  it  is  a  great  advance  in  the  right 
direction.  Furthermore  it  substitutes  enforceable 
statutes  for  the  rules  and  regulations  of  an  inspec 
tion  service  which  are  more  often  disregarded  than 
observed. 

It  requires  every  vessel  leaving  an  American  port 
for  a  foreign  country  to  carry  lifeboats  sufficient  to 
accommodate  at  least  seventy-five  per  cent  of  all  on 
board,  and  to  carry  life  rafts  for  the  remaining 
twenty-five  per  cent.  Formerly  the  number  of  life 
boats  required  to  be  carried  by  ocean  liners  was 
committed  to  the  discretion  of  the  inspection  ser 
vice,  which  has  had  less  consideration  for  public 
safety  than  for  the  interests  of  steamship  companies. 
It  was  my  contention  from  the  beginning  that  there 
should  be  lifeboats  for  all,  and  the  Senate  adopted 
the  amendment  I  offered  to  that  end.  But  the  influ 
ence  of  the  ship  owners  was  strong  enough  in  the 
House  to  reduce  the  number  of  lifeboats  to  seventy- 


Labor  and  Its  Rights  143 

five  per  cent.  Twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  passen 
gers  must  resort  to  life  rafts  in  the  event  of  disaster. 
Life  rafts  in  mid-ocean  would  only  serve  tempo 
rarily  to  keep  afloat  the  people  so  unfortunate  as 
to  be  dependent  upon  them;  and  with  a  high  sea 
running  and  in  chill  weather  they  would  inevitably 
drown  or  die  from  exposure. 

Aside  from  the  sections  of  the  law  primarily  for 
the  benefit  of  the  passengers,  the  public  has  a  direct 
interest  in  many  of  the  provisions  intended  espe 
cially  to  benefit  the  seamen. 

Safety  Demands  Sailor's  Contentment 

Making  the  sailor  a  free  man  will  make  his  calling 
equal  under  the  law  with  that  of  every  wage-earner. 
It  will  remove  the  stigma  of  involuntary  servitude 
wrhich  has  driven  tens  of  thousands  of  the  bravest 
and  best  men  to  abandon  the  sea.  Sailors  of  intel 
ligence  and  character  and  courage  on  the  deck  of 
every  ship  means  immeasurably  greater  security 
for  passengers  in  a  time  of  peril. 

The  public  safety  is  conserved  by  limiting  the 
number  of  hours  of  consecutive  service  which  can 
be  required  of  seamen,  precisely  as  it  is  conserved 
in  limiting  the  number  of  railway  employees  who  may 
be  required  to  work  in  running  railroad  trains. 
Whether  serving  in  the  cab  of  an  engine  or  serving 
on  watch  or  at  the  wheel  on  the  deck  of  an  ocean 
liner,  safety  for  human  life  demands  that  the  engi 
neer  or  the  seaman  shall  be  keen,  vigilant,  alert, 
every  faculty  concentrated  on  the  duty  of  the  hour. 
No  man  exhausted  in  mind  or  body  is  fit  for  the 
great  responsibility  which  such  a  position  imposes. 
Just  as  the  public  interest  required  a  law  restrain- 


144  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

ing  railroads  from  overworking  trainmen,  so  the 
public  interest  demands  a  limitation  on  the  hours  of 
continuous  service  at  sea. 

The  law  provides  that  in  every  port  where  a 
vessel  of  the  United  States,  after  the  voyage  has 
commenced,  shall  load  or  deliver  cargo,  before  the 
voyage  is  ended,  a  seaman  is  entitled  to  receive  on 
demand  from  the  master  of  the  vessel  to  which  he 
belongs,  one-half  of  the  wages  which  he  shall  then 
have  earned. 

The  old  law  conferred  upon  the  seaman  the  right 
to  demand  half  pay  as  above,  provided  there  were 
"no  stipulation  to  the  contrary  in  the  shipping 
agreement."  But  this  provision  in  the  old  law  was 
uniformly  defeated  by  "stipulating  to  the  contrary" 
in  the  articles  of  shipment.  This  has  enabled  the 
ship  owner  to  hold  seamen  in  the  service  against 
their  will,  by  depriving  them  of  pay  in  port.  This 
authority  over  the  seamen  was  made  absolute 
through  the  right  of  the  master  to  imprison  any 
seaman  who  quit  service,  even  though  the  vessel 
were  in  safe  port.  No  other  laboring  man  in  the 
United  States  can  be  compelled  on  pain  of  imprison 
ment  to  serve  out  his  term  according  to  the  letter 
of  his  agreement.  He  can  forfeit  his  wrages  and  quit 
if  he  finds  the  conditions  of  the  service  intolerable. 
Not  so  the  sailor.  Under  the  old  law,  fair  or  foul, 
his  body  was  bound  to  the  master  of  the  ship.  He 
was  compelled  to  continue  in  the  service  of  the  ship 
owrner  even  though  willing  to  forfeit  all  his  earnings 
in  order  to  free  himself  from  the  terms  of  his  con 
tract  of  service  whenever  he  found  them  too  harsh 
or  severe  to  be  endured. 


Labor  and  Its  Rights  145 

The  American  sailor  in  his  bondage  has  been  for 
gotten  for  generations.  At  last  his  appeal  has  been 
heard.  It  was  reserved  for  President  Wilson  in  the 
closing  hours  of  the  Sixty-third  congress  to  approve 
a  measure  which  blots  out  the  last  vestige  of  slavery 
under  the  American  flag.  The  seaman's  bill  is  the 
second  proclamation  of  freedom.  The  fourth  of 
March,  1915,  is  the  sailor's  emancipation  day. 

La  Follettc's  Magazine,  March,  1915. 

Seaman's  Law  Has  Made  Good 

(Note — The  following  extract  is  from  the  New 
Republic,  1919)  : 

"Furuseth's  prophecy  has  in  fact  come  true. 
In  1911,  the  last  year  for  which  official  statistics 
were  available,  British  wages  for  seamen  and  fire 
men  ranged  from  $20  to  $25  a  month,  while  Amer 
ican  wages  ranged  from  $30  to  $50  for  the  same 
employment.  Wages  of  other  European  maritime 
nations  were  even  lower  than  the  British.  By  the 
end  of  1918,  the  American  rate  had  risen  to  $75 
a  month  for  both  seamen  and  firemen. 

"The  result  has  been  to  place  American  seamen 
and  American  ship  owners  in  a  better  position 
than  any  they  have  occupied  since  the  civil  war. 
Wages  have  increased,  not  only  absolutely,  but 
in  relation  to  purchasing  power — for  seamen  in 
the  trans-Atlantic  trade  the  increase  in  wages 
since  1914  has  been  164  per  cent,  and  for  firemen 
89  per  cent.  This  means,  according  to  Governor 
Bass'  report,  an  increase  in  purchasing  power  of 
38  per  cent  for  seamen  and  5.4  per  cent  for  fire 
men.  Wages  are  high  enough  now  to  attract 


146  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

the  best  type  of  American  labor.  Yet  as  compared 
with  foreign  vessels,  the  cost  of  operating  Ameri 
can  ships  is  relatively  cheaper  than  before  the 
war." 

One  Issue  in  History 

Ah,  Mr.  President,  let  me  say  here  in  this  connec 
tion  that  there  has,  in  my  opinion,  been  only  one 
great  issue  in  all  the  history  of  the  world.  That  is 
sue  has  been  between  labor  and  those  who  would 
control,  through  slavery  in  one  form  or  another,  the 
laborers.  That  is  history.  Read  it.  Study  it.  Na 
tions  have  gone  down  in  ruin  from  the  first  dawn  of 
history  that  have  sought  to  make  slaves  of  the  great 
masses  of  men.  That  is  the  destiny  of  nations,  for 
the  God  of  justice  and  humanity  is  over  all,  and 
when  one  privileged  powerful  class  of  the  human 
race  seeks  to  benefit  itself  unjustly  from  the  great 
masses  of  people,  they  run  counter  and  bring  down 
upon  themselves  ultimately  the  judgment,  the  jus 
tice  of  God  Almighty.  We  are  on  the  road,  I  fear, 
that  other  nations  have  traveled.  I  do  not  know 
that  it  is  possible,  sir,  to  arrest  that  progress.  It 
may  be  that  it  is  a  disease  that  must  afflict  all  na 
tions  and  all  peoples.  It  may  be  that  it  is  an  inex 
orable  law  of  evolution. 

Here  in  this  country  we  have  been  led  to  hope 
for  something  better  than  that.  I  have  inherited,  as 
it  were,  the  belief  and  the  hope  that  this  was  the 
place  for  the  consummation  and  the  working  out  of 
the  most  perfect  Government  attainable. 

We  had  in  this  country  a  splendid  opportunity, 
better,  I  think,  than  any  other  nation  in  the  world. 


Labor  and  Its  Rights  147 

If  the  human  race  is  gradually  to  be  lifted  to  higher 
and  higher  levels,  if  civilization  is  to  be  truly  dem 
ocratic  and  progressive,  and  if  we  are  ultimately  to 
come  to  as  high  a  degree  of  perfection  in  govern 
ment  in  this  world  as  finite  human  beings  can  at 
tain,  it  ought  to  be  here  in  America,  above  all  other 
places  in  the  world,  for  we  had  here  the  best  oppor 
tunity.  We  had  virgin  soil  in  \vhich  to  lay  our 
foundations.  We  had  the  new  material  that  came 
from  the  Old  World.  Every  immigrant  wanted 
more  liberty  and  democracy,  wanted  freedom,  and 
hoped  to  realize  the  ideals  to  which  the  human  heart 
aspires.  It  is  the  only  place,  as  I  see  it,  for  the 
human  race  to  attain  it. 

I  see  forces  carrying  us  in  the  other  direction : 
The  Standard  Oil,  the  Copper  Trust,  the  Beef  Trust, 
and  all  the  great  organizations  of  power  and  capital 
that  have  been  built  up  here  in  violation  of  the  law 
of  the  land ;  that  have  thriven  and  controlled  and 
defied  the  Government. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Aug.  29,  1919. 


VIII. 
BIG  BUSINESS  AND  GOVERNMENT 


The  Legislative  Lobby 

HE  legislature  of  1899  enacted  chapter 
243  of  the  laws  of  1899,  designed  to 
control  and  somewhat  restrict  the 
operations  of  what  is  commonly 
termed  "the  lobby"  in  relation  to  legis 
lation.  The  principle  involved  in  that  enactment 
has  my  unqualified  approval.  It  is  of  course  neither 
possible  nor  desirable  to  isolate  the  members  of  the 
legislature  from  the  people  of  the  state.  All  public 
officers  are  but  the  servants  of  the  people,  and  in 
discharging  their  various  duties  the  more  closely 
they  keep  in  touch  with,  and  learn  the  wishes  and 
interests  of,  the  people,  the  better.  But  when  either 
individuals  or  corporations  keep  at  the  seat  of  gov 
ernment,  a  body  of  salaried  agents,  or  counsel, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  bring  about  or  prevent  legis 
lation,  as  their  employers  may  desire,  who  accom 
plish  such  results  not  so  much  by  open  and  public 
argument  before  the  legislature  and  legislative  com 
mittees  as  by  personal  influence  exerted  in  various 
ways  upon  individual  members  of  the  legislature, 
it  becomes  an  evil  which  ought  to  be  controlled  and 
checked  as  a  menace  to  the  welfare  of  the  state. 

In  my  judgment  the  fullest  opportunity  ought  to 
be  given  for  free  and  fair  discussion  of  all  subjects 


Big  Business  and  Government  149 

of  legislation  before  the  two  houses  and  their  vari 
ous  committees  by  all  who  are  interested  in  these 
subjects;  but,  in  my  opinion,  that  ought  to  be  the 
extent  of  the  services  permitted  to  be  performed  by 
legislative  agents  or  lobby  counsel.  Any  argument 
which  cannot  bear  the  light  of  publicity  ought  not 
to  be  permitted  to  influence  legislation  or  to  be  per 
mitted  to  be  made. 

Message  to  Legislature,  1901. 

For  Effective  Corrupt  Practices  Act 

We  are  opposed  to  the  excessive  use  of  money  in 
political  campaigns.  It  is  the  Xveapon  of  special  in 
terests.  It  is  an  instrument  of  evil.  It  debauches 
manhood  and  corrupts  the  electorate.  It  serves 
every  bad  cause  and  embarrasses  every  good  one. 

We  favor  the  enactment  of  a  law  which  will 
authorize  the  publication  by  the  state  of  necessary 
information  concerning  the  qualifications  of  candi 
dates  at  all  primary  and  general  elections. 

No  candidate  for  office  should  disburse  money  for 
the  purpose  of  promoting  his  nomination  or  elec 
tion,  except — 

First,  for  his  own  personal  traveling  expenses; 

Second,  payments  required  to  be  made  to  the  state 
for  information  published ; 

Third,  contributions  to  his  personal  campaign 
committee ; 

Fourth,  contributions  to  his  party  campaign  com 
mittee. 

Except  for  these  purposes  no  money  should  be 
expended  or  disbursed  by  any  person  to  nominate  or 
elect  any  candidate  for  office  unless  by  and  through 


150  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

a  publicly  registered  campaign  committee  to  be  ap 
pointed  by  the  candidate  himself  or  through  the  reg 
ular  party  committee  of  his  party.  Such  committees 
should  be  required  to  keep  accurate  books  of  ac 
count  and  file  sworn  statements  with  public  author 
ity  at  regular  intervals  during  the  progress  of  the 
campaign,  showing  all  moneys  contributed  to  and 
disbursed  by  it,  the  amount  thereof,  from  whom  re 
ceived,  to  whom  paid,  and  for  what  purposes.  With 
in  thirty  days  after  every  primary  and  general  elec 
tion  a  complete  statement,  in  detail,  of  all  financial 
transactions  of  such  committees  should  be  filed  in 
like  manner. 

The  total  expenditure  by  or  on  behalf  of  any  can 
didate  should  be  limited  by  law  and  restricted  to  the 
following  purposes  :  Hall  rent,  traveling  expenses  of 
speakers,  clerical  assistants,  printing  of  literature 
and  distribution  thereof  by  mail  or  public  messen 
ger,  and  newspaper  advertising.  All  campaign  lit 
erature  and  advertising  should  bear  the  name  of  the 
author  and  of  the  person  causing  a  publication 
thereof.  No  political  activity  should  be  permitted 
on  either  primary  or  general  election  day. 

Compliance  should  be  compelled  by  rigorous  pen 
alties,  including  imprisonment  and  disqualification 
of  the  candidate  for  public  office. 

We  pledge  legislation  embodying  these  principles. 
Republican  State  Platform,  1910. 

Respect  for,  and  Obedience  to  the  Law 

I  remember  a  few  days  ago  in  the  discussion  here 
that  the  senator  from  Ohio  (Mr.  Foraker)  rose  in 
his  place  and  said  that  the  railroad  officials  of  this 


Big  Business  and  Government  151 

country  are  not  criminals.  I  say  to  the  senator  that 
the  records,  so  far  as  they  have  been  exposed,  show 
that  the  railroad  officials  of  this  country  are,  with 
rare  exceptions,  criminals  under  the  statute. 

Now,  I  mean  what  I  say.  I  see  senators  on  that 
side  smile;  but  let  me  say  to  you,  gentlemen,  that 
when  in  Wisconsin  we  summoned  the  railroad  com 
panies  into  court  to  answer  for  having  juggled  the 
reports  of  their  annual  earnings,  which  they  were 
required  by  law  to  make  under  oath  to  the  state 
officials,  when  they  appeared  before  the  court  and 
the  testimony  of  the  state  was  but  partly  •  offered, 
when  the  arguments  over  certain  law  propositions 
had  been  concluded,  those  officials — and  they  are 
just  as  honorable  as  the  officials  of  any  railroad 
companies  in  the  United  States — came  into  court 
and  stipulated  that  they  had  violated  the  law,  and 
went  to  the  supreme  court  on  a  question  of  the 
statute,  as  to  whether  or  not,  to  state  it  specifically, 
their  report  to  the  state  officer  and  its  acceptance  by 
that  officer,  even  if  the  report  was  a  violation  of 
the  statute,  had  not  bound  the  state.  That  is  what 
they  did.  They  confessed  a  violation  of  the  stat 
ute  ;  they  confessed  having  under  oath  reported 
their  gross  earnings  short  of  the  true  amount  as 
required  by  the  statute;  and  they  are  just  as  hon 
orable  as  the  railroad  officials  of  any  state  in  this 
union. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  April  19-21,  1906. 

The  Half-Loaf  in  Legislation 

In  legislation  no  bread  is  often  better  than  half 
a  loaf.  I  believe  it  is  usually  better  to  be  beaten 


152  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

and  come  right  back  at  the  next  session  and  make  a 
fight  for  a  thoroughgoing  law  than  to  have  written 
on  the  books  a  weak  and  indefinite  statute. 

I  believe  that  half  a  loaf  is  fatal  whenever  it  is 
accepted  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  basic  .principle 
sought  to  be  attained.  Half  a  loaf,  as  a  rule,  dulls 
the  appetite,  and  destroys  the  keenness  of  interest 
in  attaining  the  full  loaf.  A  halfway  measure  never 
fairly  tests  the  principle  and  may  utterly  discredit 
it.  It  is  certain  to  weaken,  disappoint,  and  dissipate 
public  interest.  Concession  and  compromise  are  al 
most  always  necessary  in  legislation,  but  they  call 
for  the  most  thorough  and  complete  mastery  of  the 
principles  involved,  in  order  to  fix  the  limit  beyond 
which  not  one  hair's  breadth  can  be  yielded. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

On  Compromise 

In  every  contest  situations  may  arise,  or  be 
created,  inviting  to  a  compromise  on  candidate  or 
principle.  The  temptation  to  yield  is  strong.  Yet 
in  my  whole  course  I  have  always  insisted  on  driv 
ing  straight  ahead.  To  do  otherwise  not  only  weak 
ens  the  cause  for  which  you  are  contending  but 
destroys  confidence  in  your  constancy  of  purpose. 

I  have  always  believed  that  anything  that  was 
worth  fighting  for  involved  a  principle,  and  I  in 
sist  on  going  far  enough  to  establish  that  principle 
and  to  give  it  a  fair  trial.  I  believe  in  going  for 
ward  a  step  at  a  time,  but  it  must  be  a  full  step. 
When  I  went  into  the  primary  fight,  and  afterward 
into  the  railroad  fight — and  it  has  been  my  settled 
policy  ever  since — I  marked  off  a  certain  area  in 


Big  Business  and  Government  153 

which  I  would  not  compromise,  within  which  com 
promise  would  have  done  more  harm  to  progress 
than  waiting  and  fighting  would  have  done. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

Placing  the  Responsibility 

It  is  true  that  men  everywhere  who  dare  to  show 
that  they  are  my  friends  are  being  intimidated  and 
punished  in  innumerable  ways.  I  wish  that  it  might 
be  otherwise.  I  wish  that  I  might  either  receive 
the  blows  aimed  at  them  on  my  account,  or  else  that 
I  could  be  more  conciliatory  in  matters  of  public 
interest  by  which  I  am  deeply  moved.  But  I  can 
no  more  compromise  or  seem  to  compromise  where 
what  I  regard  as  an  important  matter  is  involved 
than  I  could  by  wishing  it  add  twenty  years  to  my 
span  of  life.  My  friends  must  accept  me  with  this 
limitation,  if  such  it  is,  or  not  at  all. 

From  Unpublished  Letter  to  a  Supporter,  1918. 

The  Packers 

No  more  infamous  organization  ever  existed  in 
the  United  States  than  the  packers'  combination.  It 
has  defied  the  criminal  law.  It  has  defied  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States.  It  has  defied  the  Presi 
dent.  It  has  defied  the  executive  and  legislative 
authority.  It  has  done  what  it  pleased ;  it  has  rid 
den  down  the  Sherman  anti-trust  law.  It  has  not 
confined  itself  to  meat  products  alone  but  it  has 
reached  out  into  almost  every  field  of  food  products 
and  is  seeking  to  control  and  dominate  the  prices  of 
food  of  the  people  of  this  country.  *  *  * 


154  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Mr.  President  and  Senators,  some  man  will  some 
day  gather  together  the  testimony  that  has  been 
submitted  to  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  of  the 
Senate,  and  when  he  throws  it  upon  the  screen  so 
that  the  people  of  this  country  may  see  it  as  it  is, 
a  leash  will  be  needed  to  hold  the  people  in  this 
country  in  restraint.  *  *  * 

*  *  *  As  we  read  from  day  to  day  the  work  of 
this  organization  *  *  *  we  know  that  at  a  time 
when  the  people  of  the  country  were  sending  their 
boys  away  and  were  giving  and  giving  to  the  pur 
chase  of  Liberty  bonds,  when  the  old  men  and  the 
old  women  were  trying  to  do  the  work  upon  the 
farms,  when  everyone  was  giving,  giving,  giving, 
we  find  that  this  packers'  organization  was  grind 
ing  the  life  out  of  the  people  by  continually  and 
unnecessarily  increasing  the  cost  of  the  necessaries 
of  life. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  June  28,  1919. 

Must  Not  Surrender  Rights 

The  gravest  danger  menacing  republican  institu 
tions  today  is  the  overbalancing  control  of  city, 
state,  and  national  legislatures  by  the  wealth  and 
power  of  public-service  corporations.  This  is  not 
more  marked  with  one  political  party  when  in  power 
than  with  another.  It  deals  with  public  officials. 
It  makes  no  political  distinctions.  It  cannot  be 
cured  by  denunciation.  It  cannot  be  defended  by 
the  cry  of  "purist"  or  "populist"  or  "demagogue." 
It  goes  directly  to  the  root  of  government.  It 
threatens  to  sap  the  life  of  American  citizenship. 
The  voter  elects  the  candidate ;  the  corporation  con- 


Big  Business  and  Government  155 

trols  the  official.  It  leaves  the  citizen  the  semblance 
of  power  which  is  actually  exercised  against  him. 

The  problem  presented  is  a  momentous  one.  It 
calls  for  no  appeal  to  passion  or  prejudice  or  fear. 
It  calls  for  courage  and  patriotism  and  self-sacrifice. 
It  calls  for  solution.  Shall  the  American  people  be 
come  servants  instead  of  masters  of  their  boasted 
material  progress  and  prosperity — victims  of  the 
colossal  wealth  this  free  land  has  fostered  and  pro 
tected?  Surely  our  great  cities,  our  great  states, 
our  great  nation,  will  not  helplessly  surrender  to 
this  most  insidious  enemy  which  is  everywhere  un 
dermining  official  integrity  and  American  institu 
tions.  Surely  the  party  of  Abraham  Lincoln  which 
abolished  slavery,  which  kept  the  United  States 
undivided,  upon  the  map  of  the  world,  will  not 
abandon  its  traditions,  its  memories,  its  hopes,  and 
become  the  instrument  of  injustice  and  oppression. 
It  will  do  its  plain  duty  now,  as  it  did  in  that  great 
est  epoch  of  the  country's  history.  It  will  meet  the 
issues  with  rectitude  and  unfaltering  devotion, 
strong  in  the  faith  of  ultimate  triumph. 

Gentlemen  of  the  convention,  the  contest  for  equal 
and  just  taxation  and  nominations  by  direct  vote 
is  not  yet  completely  won.  The  nomination  which 
you  have  just  tendered  me  is  the  unmistakable,  the 
emphatic  demand  of  the  republican  party  for  the 
prompt  enactment  of  these  laws.  But  between  that 
expressed  will  and  the  ripening  of  these  measures 
into  law,  there  are  caucuses  and  conventions  for  the 
nomination  of  candidates  for  the  senate  and  assem 
bly.  When  the  legislature  convenes  there  are  the 
same  forces  to  be  met  and  contended  with  that  led 


156  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

to  the  undoing  of  the  last  legislature.  I  appeal  to 
you,  and  through  you  to  the  people  of  the  state,  to 
be  vigilant  to  the  last  hour.  Do  not  relax  your  ef 
forts  -until  this  good  work  is  finished.  Let  no  man 
be  named  for  the  legislature  who  is  not  fully  in  ac 
cord  with  the  republican  platform.  Name  only  men 
who  are  willing  to  go  on  record  for  this  legislation, 
who  are  free  from  all  entanglements  or  complica 
tions  that  may  force  them  to  vote  contrary  to  desire 
and  conscience.  Wherever  senators  or  assembly 
men  already  have  been  nominated,  let  them  openly 
and  publicly  proclaim  their  position  with  respect 
to  these  issues.  This  is  equally  the  right  of  the 
party  and  the  public. 

Gentlemen,  the  contest  through  which  we  have 
just  passed  strengthens  the  pillars  of  government 
by  the  people  and  for  the  people.  It  teaches  the 
sacredness  of  public  obligation.  It  elevates  moral 
standards  in  public  life. 

Fight  Is  for  Principle  Only 

These  are  lessons  which  we  should  cherish.  Let 
all  else  of  this  contest  be  forgotten.  It  does  not 
signify  who  began  it,  or  why  it  was  begun.  It  has 
been  decided.  Let  that  suffice.  I  do  not  treasure 
one  personal  injury  or  lodge  in  memory  one  per 
sonal  insult.  With  individuals  I  have  no  quarrel  and 
will  have  none.  The  span  of  my  life  is  too  short 
for  that.  But  so  much  as  it  pleases  God  to  spare 
unto  me  I  shall  give,  whether  in  the  public  service 
or  out  of  it,  to  the  contest  for  good  government. 

Every  pledge  of  the  platform  which  you  have 
adopted  here  today  has  my  unqualified  approval, 
and,  if  elected,  I  shall,  in  so  far  as  the  direction  of 


Big  Business  and  Government  157 

public  affairs  is  committed  to  me,  faithfully  strive 
to  carry  out  those  pledges. 

I  accept  a  renomination  firm  in  the  resolution  to 
discharge  every  duty  that  devolves  upon  me  con 
scientiously,  sustained  by  the  abiding  conviction 
that  the  republican  party  will  redeem  its  pledges 
and  press  on  to  other  victories. 

If  again  chosen  chief  executive  of  this  common 
wealth,  it  wrill  be  my  highest  endeavor  personally, 
and  with  the  aid  of  my  associates  in  office  and  the 
co-operation  of  the  legislative  department,  to  give 
to  the  people  of  Wisconsin  an  efficient  and  eco 
nomical  state  government,  honestly  administered  in 
a  spirit  of  justice  to  all  men  and  to  all  interests. 
Speech  Accepting  Nomination  for  Governor, 

July  1 6,  1902. 
The  Iniquity  of  the  "Conference"  System 

Mr.  President,  one  of  the  iniquities  of  our  legisla 
tive  system  is  that  we  turn  over  to  conferees  al 
most,  if  not  quite,  the  absolute  power  to  make  leg 
islation. 

I  hope  that  we  shall  early  adopt  a  rule  that  con 
ference  reports  shall  be  open  to  consideration  in 
their  items  and  be  open  to  amendment  on  the  floor. 

Mr.  President,  a  system  of  rules  giving  into  the 
hands  of  a  conference  the  power  to  make  legisla 
tion  is  destructive  of  democracy. 

Why,  sir,  the  Senate  is  practically  powerless 
when  considering  a  conference  report.  It  has  to 
consider  and  to  accept  or  reject  the  report  as  a 
whole.  Legislation  about  which  there  is  a  wide  dif 
ference  of  opinion  between  this  legislative  body  and 
the  one  at  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol  goes  to 


158  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

conference.  Out  of  the  Conference  committee  will 
come  a  proposition  that  has  almost  no  relation  to 
the  opinion  expressed  by  the  other  House  or  the 
opinion  expressed  by  the  Senate  when  the  original 
measure  was  under  consideration. 

This  new  proposition  may  be  embodied  in  a  re 
port  covering  scores  of  pages.  Every  senator 
knows  that  when  a  conference  report  comes  in,  par 
ticularly  in  the  latter  days  of  a  session,  its  details 
receive  no  consideration.  It  is  passed  without  dis 
cussion  of  each  of  the  many  subjects  it  may  cover. 
Maybe  one  single  item  in  a  conference  report  will 
be  taken  up  and  discussed;  but,  Mr.  President,  the 
senate  knows  from  long  experience  that  when  such 
a  report  comes  in,  it  is  a  hopeless  proposition  to 
undertake  to  deal  with  it  in  detail.  And  so,  I  say, 
it  lies  with  the  conferees  to  make  our  legislation. 

I  hope  that  as  a  member  of  this  body  I  shall  live 
to  see  the  rules  with  respect  to  conference  reports 
so  changed  that  it  will  not  be  possible  for  two  or 
three  men  to  dictate  and  put  through  legislation. 
This  is  a  democracy.  We  are  supposed  to  be  the 
representatives  of  the  people. 

Our  work  upon  this  floor  and  the  work  of  our 
associates  at  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol  is  sup 
posed  to  represent  public  opinion  and  the  interests 
of  the  great  masses  of  this  country.  But  I  need  not 
say  to  the  Senators  what  everybody  knows,  that 
very  often  the  public  will  is  defeated,  that  public 
interest  is  perverted,  and  democracy  is  shackled  in 
legislation  as  we  enact  it. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  September,  1916. 


Big  Business  and  Government  159 

(Note — There  are  many  tricks  in  the  making  of 
laws.  Perhaps  the  most  familiar  trick  is  known  as 
the  "joker."  A  "joker"  in  legislation  is  a  well- 
known  device  by  which  bad  provisions  may  be 
slipped  into  an  otherwise  acceptable  bill.  A  "joker" 
is  thoroughly  dishonest.  It  is  resorted  to  on  every 
possible  occasion  by  privileged  interests  that  wish  to 
destroy  the  effect  of  a  good  law  demanded  by  pub 
lic  opinion. 

But  there  is  another  legislative  trick  employed  in 
congress  quite  as  effectively  as  the  "joker."  This 
trick  is  in  the  system  by  which  "conferees"  from 
both  the  house  and  senate  are  appointed  to  adjust 
differences  between  the  two  houses  on  any  measure 
of  legislation.  In  actual  practice  it  is  possible  in 
these  conferences,  for  a  handful  of  representatives 
to  shape  legislation. 

This  system  should  be  thoroughly  understood  by 
every  voter.  It  was  explained  by  Senator  La  Fol- 
lette  in  his  speech  on  the  floor  of  the  United  States 
Senate  July  26,  1916,  when  he  exposed  Gallinger's 
attempt  to  have  the  Taylor  "sweating  plan"  for 
working  men  slipped  into  the  army  appropriation 
bill — in  conference — after  it  had  been  rejected  by 
both  the  House  and  the  Senate.  See  La  Follette's 
Magazine  for  August,  1916.) 


IX 
THE  TARIFF 


What   Tariff   Should   Be 

HE  passage  of  the  Payne-Aldrich  bill 
was  the  most  outrageous  assault  of 
private  interests  upon  the  people  re 
corded  in  tariff  history. 

In  order  to  place  the  tariff  on  a  sci 
entific  basis  it  is  necessary  to  know : 

What  is  the  nature  and  use  of  a  given  commodity 
under  consideration ;  what  are  the  raw  materials 
used  in  its  production  and  manufacture ;  what  is 
the  amount  of  its  production  and  consumption  in 
this  country ;  how  many  concerns  are  engaged  in  its 
manufacture ;  who  are  the  principal  producers  ;  what 
are  the  ruling  markets  in  this  country.  Then  we 
must  know  the  ruling  market  prices  of  this  com 
modity  in  competing  countries,  what  is  the  cost  per 
unit  of  production  in  this  and  competing  countries, 
what  is  the  percentage  of  labor  cost  to  the  total 
cost  of  a  unit  of  product,  in  this  and  in  competing 
foreign  countries ;  what  is  the  cost  of  transportation 
to  the  principal  markets  from  the  points  of  produc 
tion  in  this  and  competing  foreign  countries ;  what 
part  of  the  proposed  duty  represents  the  difference 
in  cost  of  production  between  this  and  foreign  com 
peting  countries;  what  part  of  the  proposed  duty 


The  Tariff  161 

represents  the  reasonable  profits  of  the  American 
manufacturer,  if  he  is  to  be  given  a  reasonable 
profit. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  1912. 

Tariff — For  Amendment   to   Canadian   Pact 

Mr.  President,  shall  we  incur  the  risk  of  letting 
this  chance  of  at  least  a  partial  tariff  revision  go 
by?  How  shall  we  answer  to  the  public  if  we  then 
fail  of  tariff  reduction  altogether? 

Sir,  the  President  has  declared  Schedule  K  an 
"indefensible  outrage."  Further,  he  made  a  cam 
paign  and  was  elected  upon  a  declaration  that  the 
revision  of  the  tariff  should  be  downward  and  not 
upward.  I  believe  he  will  think  it  unwise  to  with 
hold  approval  of  a  bill  that  enacts  into  law  his 
particular  measure — this  Canadian  pact,  which  is 
not  reciprocity  in  any  sense — because  we  have 
amended  it,  even  though  not  to  his  liking.  This 
\\ill  be  especially  true  when  our  amendments  actu 
ally  reduce  taxation  upon  the  people  of  this  country 
by  revising  downward  that  same  Schedule  K  and 
some  others  nearly,  if  not  quite,  so  intolerable. 

Mr.  President,  what  I  shall  offer  to  the  senate  as 
an  amendment  to  the  Canadian  administration  bill, 
as  a  revision  of  Schedule  K  and  of  the  cotton  sched 
ule,  will  be  shown  to  be  easily  and  safely  within 
the  line  of  the  difference  in  production  cost.  It  will 
be  offered  with  the  expectation  that  when  the  Tar 
iff  Board  shall  have  completed  its  expert  work  upon 
any  one  of  these  schedules  that  schedule  can  be 
taken  up  by  Congress  for  thorough  and  scientific 
revision.  I  have  no  doubt  that  when  that  work 


1 62  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

shall  have  been  done  it  will  be  found  that  upon, 
the  difference  in  the  cost  of  production  between 
this  and  the  competing  countries  we  can  cut  far 
below  the  duties  which  I  shall  propose  in  the 
amendments  I  offer. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  June  21,  1911. 

Tariff — Great  Industries  Over-Protected 

I  anticipate,  Mr.  President,  that  whenever  we 
attempt  tariff  revision  or  seek  to  enact  legislation 
interfering  with  the  trust  control  of  business  a  panic 
will  be  foreshadowed,  that  prices  will  be  depressed 
for  the  products  of  the  farmer,  that  labor  will  be 
thrown  out  of  employment,  and  that  all  of  the 
threats  which  will  serve  to  frighten  the  farmer  and 
the  wage-earner  will  be  heard  on  the  hustings  and 
seen  on  the  printed  page.  But  I  shall  do  what  I 
can  to  persuade  the  business  men  of  small  means 
and  the  wage-earners  of  this  country  to  discredit 
those  warnings  as  having  any  logical  relation  to 
wholesome  legislation. 

The  predictions  of  panic  resulting  from  tariff  re 
ductions  may  come  true.  They  can  be  brought  to 
pass.  They  need  not  come  true.  These  great  in 
dustries  are  overprotected.  Their  duties  could  be 
reduced  in  most  cases  much  below  the  point  fixed 
in  this  conference  report  and  not  disturb  in  the 
slightest  degree  a  single  industry  in  the  country. 
Of  that  I  am  confident.  These  duties  will  be  re 
duced,  Mr.  President,  if  not  at  this  session  of  the 
congress  then  in  the  very  near  future ;  and  defeat  at 
this  time,  whether  it  be  here  or  whether  it  be  in- 


The  Tariff  163 

terposed  by  executive  veto,  as  threatened,  will  not 
long  delay  the  lifting  of  these  great  burdens  from 
the  backs  of  the  American  people. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  August  15,  1911. 

The  Farmer  and  the  Tariff 

The  voters  should  not  be  misled  and  vote  to  in 
crease  the  cost  of  living  by  high  tariffs  without  any 
benefits  in  return.  For  years  and  years  the  farmers 
of  this  country,  particularly  in  the  northern  states, 
have  stood  solidly  for  protective  principles.  They 
have  gone  to  the  polls  election  after  election  and 
returned  to  power  the  party  pledged  to  this  doc 
trine.  It  was  not  directly  for  their  advantage  that 
the  tariff  walls  were  raised  higher  and  higher.  But 
in  the  belief  that  they  were  ultimately  to  come  into 
their  own  through  the  upbuilding  of  a  great  home 
market,  for  many  years  they  consented  to  the  main 
tenance  of  these  high  duties.  They  were  not  un 
mindful  of  the  fact  that  they  were  thereby  com 
pelled  to  pay  more  for  manufactured  products  they 
purchased  than  otherwise  would  be  the  case  if  these 
products  came  to  them  untaxed.  But  strong  in  the 
faith  that  they  would  be  rewarded  in  the  price  paid 
for  their  products  in  the  American  market,  they 
were  content  to  go  on  paying  more  to  the  manu 
facturers  who  made  their  clothes,  their  machinery, 
manufactured  their  lumber,  furniture  and  all  sup 
plies  which  they  were  required  to  purchase.  They 
believed  that  by  fostering  our  manufacturing  in 
dustries  the  general  prosperity  of  the  nation  would 
be  enhanced,  that  a  great  and  well  paid  manufactur 
ing  population  was  the  best  guarantee  of  a  great 
and  well  patronized  farming  population. 


1 64  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Thus  the  farmer  was  persuaded  to  support  the 
protective  system.  With  patience  and  good  cheer 
he  gave  long  years  of  toil  to  the  hardship  of  open 
ing  up  new  lands  and  creating  new  agricultural  em 
pires  to  afford  a  wider  and  firmer  foundation  for 
the  nation's  prosperity. 

What  was  his  reward? 

The  home  market  was  then  created,  but  it  was 
not  just  the  home  market  which  had  been  the  farm 
er's  dream,  and  for  which  he  sacrificed  so  much. 
Behind  the  protective  tariff  wrall  which  he  had 
helped  to  rear,  the  industries  of  the  country  shelt 
ered  from  foreign  competition  had  grown  rich  and 
powerful.  They  had  become  allied  with  other  great 
and  powerful  interests,  engaged  in  transportation, 
and  those  in  turn  had  formed  monster  organizations 
for  the  control  of  stock  yards,  packing  houses,  and 
grain  elevators.  In  short,  these  interests  owned  and 
controlled  the  home  market.  They  fixed  the  farm 
er's  prices  arbitrarily.  They  took  the  profit  of  his 
toil.  Added  to  this,  the  manufacturers  protected 
against  competitors  and  compelled  the  farmer  and 
other  consumers  to  pay  higher  and  higher  prices 
for  manufactured  products. 

The  result  of  these  conditions  may  be  said  to  be 
somewhat  reflected  in  the  recent  census  report, 
which  shows  a  steady  increase  in  the  proportion  of 
farms  mortgaged  over  those  which  are  free  from 
incumbrance.  In  1890,  the  number  was  28.2  per 
cent;  in  1900  it  was  31.1  per  cent;  in  1910,  the  per 
centage  of  farms  mortgaged  had  increased  to  33.6 
per  cent. 


The  Tariff  165 

With  the  market  in  which  he  must  buy  all  his 
manufactured  products  controlled  largely,  if  not 
wholly,  by  Combinations,  which  has  steadily  in 
creased  the  price  of  everything  he  buys,  and  with 
the  market  in  which  he  must  sell  everything  he  pro 
duces  controlled  by  combinations  which  arbitrarily 
fix  the  price  that  he  receives,  the  farmer's  support 
of  the  protective  system  will  be  a  constantly  dimin* 
ishing  factor  as  long  as  these  conditions  exist. 
Speech  at  Sun  Prairie,  VVis.,  August  14,  1916. 
Tariff  Commission 

I  believe  in  protection  to  American  industries  and 
American  labor.  I  believe  that  reasonable  protec 
tion  is  measured  by  the  difference  in  cost  between 
the  manufacture  of  the  article  in  this  country  and 
the  cost  of  manufacture  abroad.  A  tariff  based  on 
this  principle  can  be  made  only  upon  scientific  study 
and  research.  I  have  favored,  together  writh  other 
progressive  Republicans,  a  tariff  commission  whose 
duty  it  will  be  to  ascertain  the  cost  of  production  in 
this  country  and  other  countries  of  the  wrorld.  A 
tariff  bill  deals  with  thousands  of  products.  Relia 
ble  data  for  determining  the  cost  of  production  has 
been  worked  out  with  accuracy  on  several  of  the 
most  important  schedules  covered  by  the  tariff.  As 
to  the  products  the  cost  of  producing  which  is  not 
known,  we  must  make  the  best  estimates  possible 
with  the  material  at  hand.  With  a  tariff  commis 
sion  to  gather  accurate  data  it  will  not  be  difficult 
to  pass  a  tariff  bill  that  will  protect  the  American 
manufacturers  who  are  dealing  fairly  with  the 
American  people. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  October,  1916. 


X 

MONEY   AND   BANKING 


On  Amending  the  National  Banking  Law 

T  is  quite  generally  admitted  that  our  cur 
rency  and  banking  laws  need  revision. 
In  my  reading  I  have  found  no  authority 
to  the  contrary.  Throughout  this  debate 
there  has  run  a  note  of  apology  and 
excuse  for  this  bill ;  that  it  is,  granting  all  that  its 
author  and  friends  claim  for  it,  but  an  expedient  for 
extreme  and  perilous  situations.  It  is  admitted  to  be 
a  makeshift. 

A  review  of  the  debates  of  recent  years  touching 
our  banking  laws  shows  that  necessity  for  revision 
has  long  been  recognized.  The  subject  has  recurred 
from  time  to  time  whenever  forced  upon  the  attention 
of  the  Senate  by  some  financial  or  commercial  disturb 
ance,  but  not  otherwise.  Propositions  are  always  forth 
coming,  timed  to  fit  some  particular  trouble,  calling 
for  some  specific  action,  and  usually  resulting  in  ben 
efit  to  the  Special  Interests.  It  would  appear  that  we 
might  learn  much  from  European  countries  in  regard 
to  bank  management  and  currency  legislation. 

For  my  own  part,  Mr.  President,  I  believe  this 
subject  one  of  supreme  importance,  requiring  study 
and  research,  such  as  no  committee  of  this  body  will 
bestow  upon  it.  I  do  not  believe  that  any  other  great 
nation  in  the  world  situated  as  we  are  would  fail  to 


Money  and  Banking  167 

create  a  suitable  commission  for  investigation  and 
report.  Such  a  commission  should  be  composed  of 
men  representing-  not  the  banking  interests  of  the 
country  alone,  representing  not  the  banking  interests 
engaged  in  speculative  banking  at  all,  but  representing 
commercial  banking  interests,  representing  transporta 
tion  interests,  representing  producers  and  consumers, 
to  which  should  be  added  a  Government  expert  who 
has  served  in  the  office  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Cur 
rency,  and  one  or  more  eminent  economists  who  have 
made  a  special  study  of  Government  finance. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  talked  in  vain  if  I  have  not 
made  plain  the  thought  that  there  is  just  one  issue 
before  the  country  today.  It  is  not  currency.  It  is  not 
tariff.  It  is  not  railroad  legislation.  These  and  other 
important  questions  are  but  phases  of  one  great  con 
flict. 

Let  no  man  think  he  is  not  concerned ;  that  his  state 
or  his  constituency  is  not  interested.  There  is  no 
remote  corner  of  this  country  where  the  power  of 
special  interests  is  not  encroaching  on  public  rights. 

Let  no  man  think  this  is  a  question  of  party  poli 
tics.  It  strikes  down  to  the  very  foundation  of  our 
free  institutions.  The  System  knows  no  party.  It  is 
supplanting  government. 

Mr.  President,  I  think  I  may  say  without  risk  of 
being  misunderstood,  at  least  by  those  of  whom  I 
speak,  that  I  know  something  of  the  sentiment  of  the 
people  of  this  country. 

I  have  found  no  difference  of  opinion  among  them 
as  to  existing  conditions  and  the  causes  underlying  it 
all.  In  Wisconsin,  and  from  New  York  to  the  Pacific 


1 68  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

states,  the  people  I  have  met  hold  one  opinion,  have 
one  conviction. 

They  are  deeply  concerned.  They  understand.  Men 
back  of  the  system  seem  to  know  not  what  they  do. 

In  their  strife  for  more  money,  more  power — more 
power,  more  money — there  is  no  time  for  thought,  for 
reflection.  They  look  neither  forward  nor  backward. 
Government,  society,  and  the  individual  are  swal 
lowed  up  in  the  struggle  for  greater  control.  The 
plain  man  living  the  wholesome  life  of  peace  and  con 
tentment  has  a  better  perspective,  a  saner  judgment. 
He  has  ideals  and  conscience  and  human  emotions. 
Home,  children,  neighbors,  friends,  church,  schools, 
country,  constitute  life.  He  knows  very  definitely,  the 
conditions  affecting  the  rights  guaranteed  him  by  the 
constitution,  but  he  longs  for  expression,  he  longs  for 
leadership.  Blind  indeed  is  he  who  does  not  see  what 
the  time  portends.  He  who  would  remain  in  public 
service  must  serve  the  public,  not  the  system.  He 
must  serve  his  country,  not  special  interests.  I  believe 
this  bill  will  strengthen  the  power  that  grows  every 
day  a  greater  menace  to  the  industrial  and  commercial 
liberty  of  the  American  people.  I  believe  this  will 
strengthen  the  very  element  that  is  undermining  the 
commercial  banking  of  the  country. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  1908. 

Private   Control  of  Legislation 

Do  you  know  that  something  over  forty  years 
ago  patriotic  independent  postmasters-general  be 
gan  to  appeal  through  their  reports  to  congress  for 
postal  savings  banks?  I  was  a  member  of  the 
house  of  representatives  in  1886.  I  was  the  young- 


Money  and  Banking  169 

est  member  of  the  house  then.  I  want  to  say  right 
now  so  as  not  to  have  any  misunderstanding  about 
my  age.  William  F.  Vilas  was  postmaster-general. 
William  F.  Vilas  figured  it  out  that  we  were  paying 
to  the  railroad  companies  for  the  use  of  the  car 
which  you  see  in  every  train  marked  "Railway 
Postal  Car,"  or  something  like  that,  to  indicate  that 
it  is  a  post  office  on  wrheels — that  wre  \vere  paying 
for  the  rent  of  those  post  offices  (that  is  all  they 
are,  just  as  your  post  office  here  is  a  federal  build 
ing,  so  are  these  cars  our  post  offices)  annually  on 
these  cars  $500,000  more  than  enough  to  build  them 
and  take  care  of  them  every  twelve  months. 

An  old  Wisconsin  boy  then  in  the  house  of  rep 
resentatives,  Henry  Clay  Evans,  a  car  manufacturer 
at  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  came  over  to  my  desk  to 
talk  to  me  about  that.  "Why,"  he  says,  "that  is  an 
awful  thing."  He  was  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  post  offices  and  post  roads.  He  said,  "I  am  going 
to  have  that  amended  in  committee,  and  I  am  going 
to  put  through  an  amendment  to  have  the  gov 
ernment  as  Postmaster  General  Vilas  recommends, 
build  those  cars  and  own  them  just  as  the  govern 
ment  owns  its  other  post  offices,  and  merely  hire  the 
railroad  company  to  pull  them  around." 

"Well,  Clay,"  I  said,  "I  think  that  is  a  splendid 
thing ;  now  you  let  me  know  how  you  get  along 
with  that  down  in  the  committee."  I  had  been  there 
one  term  longer  than  he  had,  you  know.  He  came 
up  one  day  after  a  committee  meeting,  a  square- 
jawed  fellow,  you  know,  and  he  looked  positively 
frightful,  he  was  so  angry.  He  said  :  "Do  you  know 
I  offered  that  resolution  in  the  committee  and  I 


170  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

got  one,  just  one  vote  for  it — my  vote."  "But,"  he 
said,  "I  will  fix  it  on  the  floor.  I  am  going  to  offer 
it  on  the  floor,  I  gave  notice  to  the  committee  that 
1  would."  I  said,  "All  right  Clay,  now  you  just  go 
in ;  I  will  do  what  I  can  to  help  you."  He  offered  it 
on  the  floor  and  you  know  what  happened  to  it. 
We  got  four  or  five  votes  out  of  325 — that  was  the 
membership  of  the  house  at  that  time. 

We  go  on  today  paying  that  same  exorbitant  rent 
for  the  use  of  those  cars.  I  have  tried  since  I  have 
been  back  in  the  senate  to  get  some  action,  to  get 
an  investigation  of  the  subject,  to  do  something. 
You  know  the  same  men  who  own  these  great 
group  banks  own  the  railroads  of  this  country 
They  do.  That  is  just  a  suggestion,  you  know.  I 
could  stand  here  all  night  long,  so  could  your  owrn 
senator  here,  and  detail  to  you  the  history,  piece 
after  piece  of  legislation  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years 
just  like  that,  just  like  that. 

Currency  Reform  Is  Long  Battle 

Take  the  banking  and  currency  laws  of  the  coun 
try.  We  have  got  a  currency  commission  now. 
Senator  Aldrich  is  at  the  head  of  it.  He  named  the 
other  members.  They  are  going  to  help  him  out. 
They  are  going  to  report  out  a  measure  this  coming 
congress.  I  suspect  it  is  going  to  be  for  a  central 
bank.  But  I  suspect  the  control  of  that  bank  will 
be  here.  Fight,  as  you  would  fight  for  your  lives 
against  that  legislation.  I  don't  care  who  backs  it 
up  or  who  endorses  it.  I  don't  care  what  sanction  it 
may  have  from  high  places ;  fight  it  as  you  would 
fight  for  your  lives,  because  the  control  of  the  cur 
rency  is  the  last  ditch. 


Money  and  Banking  171 

Do  you  know  what  the.  acting  comptroller  of  the 
currency  said  in  an  interview  while  the  Aldrich 
emergency  currency  bill  was  pending  in  the  United 
States  senate?  He  said  that  for  forty  years,  and 
he  named  the  number  of  comptrollers  of  the  cur 
rency  that  had  been  in  office  during  that  period  of 
time,  they  had,  in  their  annual  reports  to  congress,  made 
recommendations  in  the  interests  of  the  depositors 
of  banks  and  of  the  public  generally,  not  one  of 
which  had  been  adopted  in  all  that  time  by  congress. 

Acting  Commissioner  Kane,  who  has  been  in  of 
fice  for  many  years,  is  assistant  comptroller  of  the 
currency.  He  is  a  man  whose  knowledge  and  whose 
information  and  whose  character  and  standing  are 
high  enough  and  important  enough  to  be  retained 
there  to  do  the  real  work  while  nominal  heads  come 
and  go  over  him.  He  said  boldly  in  an  interview 
over  his  own  name,  while  that  so-called  emergency 
bill  was  pending  in  the  United  States  senate,  that 
no  legislation  recommended  in  the  public  interest 
had  received  any  attention  from  congress  and  that 
the  only  legislation  on  the  currency  question  which 
did  get  attention  from  congress  was  legislation 
which  served  some  financial  power.  He  was  driven 
so  by  his  sense  of  what  was  right  and  just  and  due 
to  the  American  people,  during  the  pendency  of 
that  gigantic  fraud  as  a  financial  proposition  that 
was  perpetrated  on  the  American  people  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  finding  a  market  among  the  banks 
of  this  country  for  the  securities  of  these  over 
capitalized  organizations  that  were  made  and  legiti 
matized  by  that  measure  as  a  proper  basis  for 
emergency  currency  in  time  of  distress.  He  felt  so 


172  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

outraged  by  that  legislation  that  on  Sunday  morn 
ing  in  the  Washington  Post  he  gave  that  interview 
which   was   a   challenge   to   and   a   denunciation    of 
congress  on  its  record  through  all  those  years. 
Speech  at  St.  Paul,  Oct.  9,  1909. 

High  Finance — Interlocking  Directorates — Back 
bone  of  the  Money  Power 

The  most  effective  invention  for  the  centralized 
control  of  capital  and  credit  which  the  ingenuity  of 
high  finance  has  contrived,  is  the  interlocking  di 
rectorates. 

The  scheme  is  simple.  To  establish  a  common 
interest  and  bind  together  great  banking  concerns 
the  necessary  stock  is  acquired  by  purchase  or  ex 
change  in  the  various  banks  of  an  extended  chain 
of  such  institutions,  which  it  is  desired  to  combine. 
This  carries  with  it  the  right  of  representation  on 
the  several  boards  of  directors  and  unifies  the  or 
ganization.  It  establishes  a  stable  working  connec 
tion  which  mere  commercial  exchanges  in  the  or 
dinary  course  of  banking  transactions  cannot  begin 
to  approach.  In  short,  it  enables  a  few  men  to  ex 
ercise  wide  control  over  all  who  must  deal  with 
these  allied  banks.  It  is  the  backbone  of  the  money 
power. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  September  27,  1913. 


XI 

INITIATIVE,   REFERENDUM   AND   RECALL 


Instruments  of  Democracy 

OR  years  the  American  people  have 
been  engaged  in  a  terrific  struggle 
with  the  allied  forces  of  organized 
wealth  and  political  corruption.  Bat 
tles  have  been  won  and  lost.  The  un 
equal  contest  goes  on.  The  lesson  is  obvious.  The 
people  must  have  in  reserve  new  weapons  for  every 
emergency,  if  they  are  to  regain  and  preserve  con 
trol  of  their  government. 

The  forces  of  special  privilege  are  deeply  en 
trenched.  Their  resources  are  inexhaustible.  Their 
efforts  never  relax.  Their  political  methods  are  in 
sidious.  It  is  impossible  for  the  people  to  maintain 
perfect  organization  in  mass.  They  are  often  taken 
unawares  and  are  liable  to  lose  at  one  stroke  the 
achievements  of  years  of  effort.  In  such  a  crisis 
nothing  but  the  united  power  of  the  people  ex 
pressed  directly  through  the  ballot  can  overthrow 
the  enemy. 

Through  the  initiative,  referendum  and  recall  the 
people  in  any  emergency  can  absolutely  control. 
The  initiative  and  referendum  make  it  possible  for 
them  to  demand  a  direct  vote  and  repeal  bad  laws 
which  have  been  enacted,  or  to  enact  by  direct  vote 
good  measures  which  their  representatives  refuse 


174  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

to  consider.  The  recall  enables  the  people  to  dis 
miss  from  public  service  those  representatives  who 
dishonor  their  commissions  by  betraying  the  public 
interest.  These  measures  will  prove  so  effective 
a  check  against  unworthy  representatives  that  it 
will  rarely  be  found  necessary  to  invoke  them. 
People  Have  Last  Word 

Constitutions  and  statutes  and  all  the  complex 
details  of  government  are  but  instruments  created 
by  the  citizen  for  the  orderly  execution  of  his  will. 
Whenever  and  wherever  they  fail,  they  will  be  so 
changed  as  to  make  them  effective  to  execute  and 
express  the  well-considered  judgment  of  the  citizen. 

For  over  and  above  constitutions  and  statutes, 
and  greater  than  all,  is  the  supreme  sovereignty  of 
the  people! 

We  need  not  fear,  Mr.  President.  This  is  the 
people's  government.  They  will  not  destroy  it. 
They  will  not  permit  organized  privilege  to  destroy 
its  vital  principle.  They  will  restore  and  forever 
preserve  it  as  a  government  that  shall  be  truly  rep 
resentative  of  the  will  of  the  people. 

They  know  that  the  initiative  and  referendum 
will  place  in  the  hands  of  the  people  the  power  to 
protect  themselves  against  the  mistakes  or  indiffer 
ence  of  their  representatives  in  the  legislature. 
Then  it  will  always  be  possible  for  the  people  to 
demand  a  direct  vote  and  to  repeal  a  bad  law  which 
the  legislature  has  enacted,  or  to  enact  by  direct 
vote  a  good  measure  which  the  legislature  has  re 
fused  to  consider. 

The  recall  will  enable  the  people  to  dismiss  from 
public  service  a  representative  whenever  he  shall 


Initiative,  Referendum,  Recall  175 

cease  to  serve  the  public  interest.  Then  no  jack 
pot  politician  can  hold  his  office  in  defiance  of  the 
will  of  a  constituency  whose  commission  he  has 
dishonored. 

Wherever  representative  government  fails,  it  fails 
because  the  representative  proves  incompetent  or 
false  to  his  trust.  Intrenched  in  office  for  his  full 
term,  his  constituency  is  powerless  and  must  sub 
mit  to  misrepresentation.  There  is  no  way  to  cor 
rect  his  blunders  or  to  protect  against  his  betrayal. 
At  the  expiration  of  his  service  he  may  be  replaced 
by  another  who  wrill  prove  equally  unworthy.  The 
citizen  is  entitled  to  some  check,  some  appeal,  some 
relief,  some  method  of  halting  and  correcting  the 
evils  of  misrepresentation  and  betrayal. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  October  17,  1914. 

To  the  Voters  of  Wisconsin 

I  believe  in  the  intelligence  and  patriotism  of  the 
people  of  Wisconsin.  I  believe  they  are  capable  of 
seji^overnment.  The  common,  average  judgment 
ot_the  community  is  always  wise,  rational  and  trust- 
worthy.  I  would  S£e  them  clothed  with  the  largest 
power  to  say  the  final  word  as  to  the  laws  under 
which  they  are  to  live  and  the  government  they 
maintain. 

The  republican  platform  of  Wisconsin  is  the 
strongest  guarantee  yet  given  for  perpetuating  self- 
government.  If  the  pledges  of  the  republican  plat 
form  become  the  law  of  this  state,  government  of 
the  people,  by  the  people,  will  be  forever  safe  in 
Wisconsin. 

A  perfected  primary  law  will  insure  majority 
nomination.  Then  the  will  of  the  majority  can  no 


176  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

longer  suffer  defeat  through  division  of  votes  among 
several  candidates  representing  the  same  principles. 

A  strong  corrupt  practices  law  will  limit  the  use 
of  money  in  elections.  Then  no  man  can  buy  po 
litical  office  and  power  in  Wisconsin  and  the  public 
service  will  be  equally  within  the  reach  of  all  men. 

Fellow  citizens,  if  you  would  insure  faithful  and 
efficient  administration  of  progressive  legislation 
enacted  in  recent  years, — the  regulation  of  railway 
rates  and  services,  the  regulation  of  the  rates  and 
services  of  all  public  utilities,  the  collection  of  a 
just  and  reasonable  tax  upon  all  public-service  cor 
porations  in  this  state,  the  rigid  enforcement  of  the 
pure  food  and  dairy  statutes,  the  thorough  inspec 
tion  of  factories,  the  strict  enforcement  of  laws  for 
the  protection  of  the  public  health,  the  vigilant  su 
pervision  of  insurance,  the  advancement  and  sup 
port  of  our  educational  system,  the  proper  care  and 
management  of  our  charitable  and  penal  institu 
tions — if  you  would  secure  the  conservation  and 
control  of  waterpowers  by  the  state  for  the  benefit 
of  all  the  people,  the  enactment  of  a  graduated  in 
come  tax  law,  home  rule  for  cities,  the  benefits  of  a 
workmen's  compensation  statute,  a  thorough  in 
vestigation  of  co-operative  buying  and  selling, 
storage  and  warehousing  as  affecting  the  farmer 
and  the  consumer,  co-operative  credit  and  collective 
bargaining  and  arbitration  between  employers  and 
employees, — if  you  approve  of  the  course  of  the 
progressive  representatives  of  Wisconsin  in  con 
gress,  their  fight  against  a  tariff  bill  that  violated 
platform  pledges  and  imposed  ever  increasing 
burdens  upon  the  consumer,  their  struggle  to  frame 


Initiative,  Referendum,  Recall  177 

a  just  and  efficient  postal  savings  bank  law  to  serve 
the  interests  of  the  people  rather  than  promote  the 
interests  of  Wall  Street,  their  successful  labors  in 
so  reconstructing  the  railway  rate  bill  as  to  make 
it  a  public  benefit  instead  of  a  positive  public 
injury — if  you  would  maintain  Wisconsin  as  the 
leader  of  this  great  progressive  movement  to 
restore  government  to  the  people,  then  make  the 
majority  for  the  principles  declared  in  this  platform 
and  for  the  candidates  who  really  and  truly  repre 
sent  those  principles,  the  largest  and  most  decisive 
ever  recorded  in  the  history  of  the  state. 
Voter  Wields  Supreme  Power 
At  no  time  in  the  last  half  century  has  there  been 
such  imperative  reason  for  patriotic  independence 
on  the  part  of  the  American  voter.  The  ballot  is  his 
weapon.  He  should  use  it  everywhere  independent 
ly,  fearlessly.  Teach  both  political  parties  that  they 
can  no  longer  play  the  voter  for  a  fool.  Strike  down 
as  an  enemy  of  the  republic  any  candidate  of  any 
party  whose  past  record  or  present  connection 
marks  him  as  the  agent  of  special  interests.  To 
seek  to  invoke  in  this  hour  of  the  life  of  American 
democracy  the  party  spirit  to  maintain  party  solidar 
ity,  and  to  assure  a  party  victory  regardless  of  the 
relative  merits  of  opposing  candidates,  regardless 
of  a  record  of  subserviency  to  privilege,  is  a  sur 
render  of  every  principle  that  has  made  the  progres 
sive  movement  the  hope  of  millions.  Let  it  go  to 
the  country  on  November  eighth  that  Wisconsin 
places  service  to  the  public  interest  above  service 
to  any  political  party,  and  that  her  progressive 
leaders  never  betrayed  their  cause.  Sometimes, 


178  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

mistaken  in  men,  they  have  suffered  humiliation  and 
temporary  reverses,  but  the  leaders  of  the  progres 
sive  movement  and  the  great  mass  of  the  voters  in 
Wisconsin,  have  kept  the  faith  alike,  and  regardless 
of  party,  have  fought  a  good  fight,  a  successful  fight 
to  make  state  government  in  Wisconsin  a  real  rep 
resentative  democracy. 

Letter  to  Wisconsin  Voters,  November  3,  1910. 

The  Recall 

*  *  *  I  do  not  believe  you  will  ever  get  any  true 
representative  government  in  the  United  States, 
until  there  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people  the  power 
to  recall  the  representative  who  betrays  them. 

Every  business  institution  in  America  has  that 
right  in  the  case  of  an  unfaithful  employee, — be  he 
a  cashier  in  a  bank,  the  manager  of  a  big  trust  con 
cern,  the  president  of  a  railroad.  It  does  not  make 
any  difference  how  long  the  term  of  office  or  the 
term  of  contract  of  such  a  man,  if  it  be  found  that 
the  man  failed  to  serve  faithfully  under  the  terms 
of  his  contract  and  had  betrayed  the  party  to  whom 
he  has  made  obligations  in  his  contract  of  faithful 
service,  he  can  be  thrown  out  of  his  position. 

But  the  United  States  Senator  and  Member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  the  other  gentlemen 
who  may  get  in  under  false  pretenses,  pretending  to 
represent  the  public  interest,  and  who  then  betray 
the  public  interest,  cannot  be  driven  from  power 
for  six  years  or  four  years  or  two  years.  I  think 
that  is  unfair  to  the  public. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  June  28,  1919. 


XII 
FEDERAL  JUDGES  AND  INJUNCTIONS 


The  Election  of  Federal  Judges 

HIS  is  a  democracy.     The  people  shall 
rule. 

The  ballot  should  be  the  safeguard 
against  bloodshed  and  anarchy.  Wise 
men  will  look  to  the  future  through  the 
history  of  the  past.  They  will  desire  to  avoid  the 
throes  of  revolution  by  force  by  peaceful  change 
through  the  ballot  and  we  will  win.  We  shall  not, 
we  must  not,  let  this  thing  go  on  to  bloody  tragedy. 
Government  must  be  made  more  responsible  to 
the  people.  Life  terms  of  office  should  be  abolished. 
The  appointing  power  should  be  limited  to  ad 
ministrative  officers.  Federal  judges  with  powers 
greater  than  the  Congress  should  be  subject  to  elec 
tion  by  the  people,  as  judges  are  in  the  state  courts. 
Upon  their  records  as  judges  they  should  be  re 
quired  to  go  to  the  people. 

From  "Sanctified  Crime,"  La  Folletie's 

Magazine,  March,  1920. 

I 

The  Sacred  Rights  of  Property 

Why  should  we  temporize?  Why  should  we  ap 
proach  this  subject  on  tiptoe,  with  apology  to  spe 
cial  interests  and  apostrophe  to  property  rights? 
Honest  wealth  needs  no  guaranty  of  security  in  this 


i8o  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

country.  Property  rightfully  acquired  does  not  be 
get  fear — it  fosters  independence,  confidence,  cour 
age.  Property  which  is  the  fruit  of  plunder  feels 
insecure.  It  is  timid.  It  is  quick  to  cVy  for  help. 
It  is  ever  proclaiming  the  sacredness  of  vested 
rights.  The  thief  can  have  no  vested  rights  in  stolen 
property.  I  resent  the  assumption  that  the  great 
wealth  of  this  country  is  safe  only  when  the  million 
aires  are  on  guard.  Property  rights  are  not  the  spe 
cial  charge  of  the  owners  of  great  fortunes.  Even 
the  poor  may  be  relied  upon  to  protect  property. 
They  have  so  little — the  little  they  have  is  so  preci 
ous — that  they  are  easily  enlisted  to  defend  the 
rights  of  property. 

Speech,  U.  S.  Senate,  April  19-21,  1906,  on 
"Regulation  of  Railway  Rates  and  Services/' 

A  Judicial  Oligarchy 

The  judiciary  has  grown  to  be  the  most  powerful 
institution  in  our  government.  It,  more  than  any 
other,  may  advance  or  retard  human  progress. 
Evidence  abounds  that,  as  constituted  today,  the 
courts  pervert  justice  almost  as  often  as  they  ad 
minister  it.  Precedent  and  procedure  have  com 
bined  to  make  one  law  for  the  rich  and  another  for 
the  poor.  The  regard  of  the  courts  for  fossilized 
precedent,  their  absorption  in  technicalities,  their 
detachment  from  the  vital,  living  facts  of  the  pres 
ent  day,  their  constant  thinking  on  the  side  of  the 
rich  and  powerful  and  privileged  classes  have 
brought  our  courts  into  conflict  with  the  democratic 
spirit  and  purposes  of  this  generation.  Moreover, 
by  usurping  the  power  to  declare  laws  unconstitu- 


Federal  Judges  and  Injunctions  181 

tional  and  by  presuming  to  read  their  own  views 
into  statutes  without  regard  to  the  plain  intention 
of  the  legislators,  they  have  become  in  reality  the 
supreme  law-making  institution  of  our  government. 
They  have  taken  to  themselves  a  power  it  was  never 
intended  they  should  exercise ;  a  power  greater  than 
that  entrusted  to  the  courts  of  any  other  enlightened 
nation.  And  because  this  tremendous  power  has 
been  so  generally  exercised  on  the  side  of  the 
wealthy  and  powerful  few,  the  courts  have  become 
at  last  the  strongest  bulwark  of  special  privilege. 
They  have  come  to  constitute  what  may  indeed  be 
termed  a  "judicial  oligarchy." 

Sensing  this,  the  people  have  become  distrustful. 
In  various  ways  they  have  shown  their  dissatisfac 
tion  with  the  work  of  the  courts.  Severe  attacks 
have  been  made  recently  upon  the  integrity  and 
ability  of  certain  judges.  Everywhere  there  is  a 
growing  public  demand  for  a  change  that  will  bring 
the  judiciary  again  into  its  proper  sphere  and  into 
closer  communion  with  the  progressive  ideals  of 
this  generation. 

La  Folle tie's  Magazine,  June  22,  1912. 


XIII 
THE   PROGRESSIVE   MOVEMENT 


What  is  the  Progressive  Movement? 

FTER  all  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  define 
the  progressive  movement.  It  can  be 
expressed  in  a  single  'sentence.  It 
comprehends  the  aspirations  of  the 
human  race  in  its  struggle  from  the 
beginning  down  to  the  present  time. 

The  will  of  the  people  shall  be  the  law  of  the 
land.  Constitutions,  statutes  and  all  of  the  com- 
l4gx  details  of  government  are  but  instruments  to 
carry  out  the  will  of  the  people,  and  when  they  fail 
—when  constitutions  and  statutes  and  all  of  the 
agencies  employed  to  execute  constitutions  and  stat- 
utes  fail — they  must  be  changed  so  as  to  carry  out 
and  express  the  well  formulated  judgment  and  the 
wil)  of  the  people.  For  over  all  and  above  all,  and 
greater  than  all,  and  expressing  the  supreme  sov- 
eTelgnty  of  all,  arejthe  jgeople. 

Address  at  Republican  Platform  Convention,  1910. 

! 

Origin  of  the  Movement 

The  essence  pf_the  progressive  movement,  as  I 
see  it,  lies  in  its  purpose  to  uphold  the  fundamental 
principles  of  representative  government.  It  ex 
presses  the  hopes  and  desires  of  millions  of  common 


The  Progressive  Movement  183 

men  and  women  who  are  willing  to  fight  for  their 
ideals,  to  take  defeat  if  necessary,  and  still  go  on 
fighting. 

In  the  state  of  Wisconsin  the  progressive  move 
ment  expressed  itself  in  the  rise  to  power  of  the 
Patrons  of  Husbandry.  The  Grange  movement 
swept  four  or  five  middle  western  states,  expressing 
vigorously  the  first  powerful  revolt  against  the  rise 
of  monopolies,  the  arrogance  of  railroads  and  the 
waste  and  robbery  of  the  public  lands. 

In  Wisconsin  the  granger  movement  went  so  far 
as  to  cause  a  political  revolution  and  the  election  in 
1874  of  a  democratic  governor.  A  just  and  compre 
hensive  law  for  regulating  the  railroads  was  passed 
and  a  strong  railroad  commission  was  instituted. 
It  was  then,  indeed,  that  the  railroads  began  to  dom 
inate  politics  for  the  first  time  in  this  country.  They 
saw  that  they  must  either  accept  control  by  the  state 
or  control  the  state.  They  adopted  the  latter  course ; 
they  began  right  there  to  corrupt  Wisconsin — in 
deed  to  corrupt  all  the  states  of  the  middle  west. 
And  as  usual  they  were  served  by  the  cleverest  law 
yers  and  writers  that  money  could  hire. 

Introduction  to  Autobiography,   1913. 

Wisconsin's  Progressive  Laws 

Wisconsin  stands  in  the  forefront  of  states  by 
reason  of  the  progressive  legislation  enacted  under 
Republican  administration  during  the  last  ten  years, 
including  laws  for  direct  nominations ;  for  an  un- 
trammeled  vote  at  the  election ;  for  the  ad  valorem 
system  of  taxing  railroads ;  to  remove  the  pernici 
ous  .influence  of  the  lobby  in  legislation ;  to  pro- 


1 84  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

mote  education  and  particularly  agricultural  and  in 
dustrial  training;  to  provide  adequate  regulation 
through  the  railroad  commission  of  rates  and  serv 
ices  of  railroads  and  public  utilities ;  to  conserve 
the  state  domain  through  the  forestry  commission ; 
to  regulate  insurance ;  to  protect  employees  in  haz 
ardous  occupations ;  to  regulate  child  labor ;  to  pre 
vent  adulteration  in  foods ;  and  to  protect  public 
health  by  sanitary  regulations. 

Republican  State  Platform,  1910. 

Keeping  Faith  with  the  People 
I  am  informed  by  your  committee  that  you  have 
elected  me  to  represent  Wisconsin  as  United 
States  senator.  Assembled  in  joint  session  under 
organic  and  statutory  law  you  are  empowered  to 
speak  for  all  the  people  of  this  commonwealth.  Any 
man,  at  any  time  in  his  life,  may  well  regard  an 
election  to  the  United  States  senate  as  the  highest 
honor  to  which  he  can  attain  in  the  public  service. 
That  you  should  have  chosen  me  at  this  time,  and 
in  this  way,  and  in  the  spirit  manifested,  fills  me 
with  a  sense  of  gratitude  I  can  in  no  wise  express. 
You  have  bestowed  upon  me,  unsought,  the  great 
est  distinction  which  any  state  can  confer  upon  any 
citizen.  This  mark  of  your  confidence  I  shall 
cherish  in  grateful  memory  while  I  live. 

Whenever  I  have  believed  that  I  could  be  helpful 
in  the  public  service,  I  have  frankly  and  openly  de 
clared,  my  candidacy.  It  has  seemed  to  me  the  more 
honorable  way.  Months  ago,  had  I  been  free  to 
become  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  United  States 
senator,  I  should  have  so  declared  at  that  time. 
But  for  many  years,  issues  in  which  I  feel  a  pro- 


The  Progressive  Movement  185 

found  interest  have  been  pending  in  this  state.  Be 
lieving  that  I  could  best  serve  the  public  by  so  do 
ing,  I  offered  myself  as  a  candidate  for  governor  in 
support  of  these  issues.  I  was  twice  elected,  and, 
a?  God  gave  me  to  see  the  right,  served  the  state  as 
best  I  could.  Great  progress  wTas  made,  but  the 
work  was  unfinished.  To  assist  in  that  unfinished 
work,  I  \vas,  for  the  third  time,  elected  governor. 

I  am  sure  that  none  of  you,  wrho  have  borne  with 
me  the  bitterness  and  fury  of  campaigns  for  a  dec 
ade  of  time,  would,  for  any  consideration,  endanger 
the  consummation  and  protection  of  that  work  in 
which  we  have  been  engaged. 

We  have  seen  it  grow  from  the  assertion  of  prin 
ciple  to  the  enactment  of  broad  and  comprehensive 
statutes  which  bulwark  and  fortify  the  foundations 
of  representative  government.  We  have  seen  it 
grow  in  interest  until  it  passed  the  boundaries  of 
the  state  and  fixed  the  attention  of  the  nation,  and 
we  have  seen  it  expand  upon  the  national  side  into 
the  dominant  issue  in  national  legislation,  where  it 
has  slumbered  for  many  years. 

I  would  not  have  any  member  of  the  legislature, 
nor  any  citizen  of  the  commomvealth,  believe  that  I 
do  not  comprehend  the  wide  scope  of  the  duties  of 
the  high  office  of  United  States  senator,  nor  of  the 
obligation  it  carried  to  serve  impartially  the  whole 
state  and  the  whole  nation,  and  all  the  people,  and 
all  the  people's  interests. 

Feels   Solemn   Responsibility 

But  I  believe  I  am  not  blinded  by  any  feeling  of' 
prejudice,  nor  warped  by  any  hard  experience,  in 
regarding  the  past  decade  in  political  history  in 


1 86  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Wisconsin  and  the  next  decade  in  the  political  his 
tory  of  the  United  States,  as  epochmaking  years  in 
state  and  national  government.  There  are  import 
ant  patriotic  duties  of  this  generation  of  men  to  per 
form  in  both  of  these  great  fields.  Mindful  as  I 
must  always  be  and  you  must  always  be — for  the 
most  of  you  carry  wounds  and  scars  of  this  long 
civic  strife — of  the  profound  significance  of  the  last 
ten  years  of  political  history  in  Wisconsin  for  the 
principles  which  underlie  government  by  the  peo 
ple,  your  action  in  electing  me  United  States  senator 
seems  to  come  as  a  commission  from  you,  and  the 
people  of  the  state  through  you,  to  carry  a  message, 
out  of  our  service  here,  into  the  wider  field  of  na 
tional  legislation.  Your  call  invites  me  to  partici 
pate  in  that  great  work,  which  was  to  deal  immedi 
ately  with  the  problems  President  Roosevelt  has 
courageously  pressed  upon  congress  for  solution. 

I  appreciate  that  you  have  the  same  sense  of 
obligation  to  the  people  of  Wisconsin  which  I  have. 
I  fully  realize  that  if  you  did  not  believe  I  could 
serve  the  people's  interests  better  as  senator  than  as 
governor,  you  would  not  have  taken  this  action  today. 

It  would,  indeed,  be  presumptuous  for  me  to  as 
sume  that  you  have  not  fully  considered  every 
phase  of  every  question  that  can  be  raised  by  the 
action  which  you  have  taken.  It  would  be  doubly 
presumptuous  in  me  to  assume  that  my  presence 
here  is  vital.  I  do  not  indulge  that  presumption, 
but  I  cannot  at  this  time  wholly  divest  myself  of  a 
sense  of  duty  to  the  people  of  Wisconsin  that,  how 
ever  difficult  to  define  in  specific  terms,  nevertheless 
exists,  and  is  a  valid  reason  for  the  course  I  am 


The  Progressive  Movement  187 

impelled  to  take,  and  which  I  trust  your  deliberate 
judgment  will  commend.  For  all  of  us  must  recog 
nize  the  common  obligation.  We  are  commissioned 
by  the  same  sovereign  authority.  We  have  accepted 
from  them  the  same  trust.  The  obligation  is  bind 
ing  and  the  trust  is  sacred.  They  must  be  kept  in 
violate  and  fulfilled  according  to  their  intent  and 
spirit.  To  achieve  this  we  must  each,  in  his  own 
sphere,  give  to  the  state  all  that  an  important  offi 
cial  duty,  once  assumed,  may  demand. 

Pledges  Faithfulness  to  People 

We  are  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  session,  and 
while  at  the  present  time  there  would  seem  to  be  no 
reason  for  any  conflict  of  obligation,  and  while  I 
do  not  believe  that  any  one  can  arise  in  state  and 
national  affairs  to  make  that  which  today  seems 
plain  and  simple  appear  complex  and  difficult, 
nevertheless,  I  desire  to  exercise  every  possible  pre 
caution  against  future  contingencies. 

I  wish  to  be  entirely  frank  with  you  and  the  peo 
ple  of  the  state,  as  I  have  always  tried  to  be.  There 
shall  be  no  concealments  nor  any  misunderstanding 
through  any  fault  of  mine.  If  a  public  office  is  a 
public  trust,  there  should  be  no  deception  on  the 
part  of  the  official  in  the  relation  to  those  for  whom 
he  holds  the  trust. 

I  cannot  but  feel  I  was  elected  governor  of  this 
state  because  the  people  believed  I  stood  for  cer 
tain  things  in  government,  and  that  I  would  not  re 
lax  my  efforts  until  I  had  done  all  in  my  power  legit* 
imately  as  governor  to  accomplish  certain  results. 

If,  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  session,  before  any 
legislation  has  been  enacted,  before  there  is  any  cer- 


1 88  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

tainty  that  there  will  not  be  a  conflict  in  duty  as 
United  States  senator-elect  and  as  governor  of  the 
state,  I  accept  without  qualification  or  explanation 
the  honor  you  have  tendered  me,  I  fear  my  action 
would  be  misinterpreted  by  the  people  of  Wiscon 
sin.  It  might  lessen  their  faith  in  official  obliga 
tion,  it  might  undermine  their  confidence,  and 
weaken  their  interest  in  the  final  fulfillment  of  the 
pledges  made  to  them.  I  cannot  believe  that  we  can 
even  partially  fail  in  the  faithful  performance  of 
every  duty.  I  cannot  at  present  see  what  I  could  do 
as  governor  for  this  legislation  after  this  session 
should  terminate,  if  there  were  failure,  either  in 
whole  or  in  part,  which  I  might  not  do  equally  well, 
and,  perhaps,  more  effectively,  as  a  United  States 
senator,  in  co-operation  with  the  people  of  this 
commonwealth  for  a  people's  government.  But, 
recognizing,  as  I  must,  the  present  obligations  which 
rest  upon  me,  I  am  compelled  to  be  in  readiness  to 
meet  any  unforeseen  issue  which  may  develop. 

For  these  reasons,  then,  I  say,  in  accepting  your 
high  commission,  that,  if  there  should  appear  any 
conflict  in  the  obligation  I  entered  into  when  I  took 
the  oath  of  office  as  governor,  and  that  of  United 
States  senator-elect,  then  I  shall  ask  you  to  receive 
it  from  me  and  place  it  in  other  hands  of  your  own 
choosing.  The  selection  of  United  States  senator  is 
your  prerogative  and  will,  of  course,  be  preserved 
to  you. 

Huge  Task  Seen  Ahead 

That  it  would  call  for  any  great  personal  sacrifice 
on  my  part  to  be  compelled  for  any  reason  to  de 
cline  the  office  of  United  States  senator,  I  need 


The  Progressive  Movement  189 

scarcely  say.  The  opportunity  which  you  offer  to 
me  to  serve  the  state  is  the  greatest  which  could 
come  to  any  man  in  this  generation.  At  no  time. 
since  the  close  of  the  war,  have  the  essential  prin 
ciples  of  popular  government  been  in  greater  peril. 
The  government  is  seeking  to  control  public-service 
corporations  and  industrial  combinations  are  seek 
ing  to  control  government.  The  next  few  years 
will  test  the  vital  principles  of  democracy  in  this 
country  as  never  before. 

Gentlemen,  I  thank  you  from  a  full  heart  for  this 
great  opportunity,  this  great  honor,  this  great  trust. 
I  feel  that  the  close  relationship  and  mutual  con 
fidence  which  have  heretofore  existed  between  my 
self  and  the  people  of  Wisconsin  are  equally  vital 
as  between  the  people  and  one  elected  to  serve  as 
United  States  senator.  If  that  relation  continues, 
it  shall  ever  be  my  care  to  strengthen  and  preserve 
that  intimacy  and  confidence.  State  government 
and  national  government  are  inseparably  associated 
and  constantly  react  upon  each  other.  The  inter 
dependence  in  the  spirit  is  closer  than  in  the  letter 
of  the  law. 

If  I  enter  this  service,  it  will  be  in  the  hope  that 
friendships  and  associations  with  the  people  will 
strengthen  and  increase.  That  the  republican  party 
will  find  me  in  sympathy  with  and  enlisted  in  the 
support  of  issues  which  deeply  concern  state  gov 
ernment,  and  that  in  so  far  as  I  have  ability  and 
power,  I  shall  represent  all  the  interests  of  the 
state  and  sacredly  keep  faith  with  the  people  in  all 
things. 

Speech  on  Election  as  U.  S.  Sena-tor,  Jan.  25,  1905. 


XIV 
MILITARISM 


Preparedness  Should  be  for  Defense 

HE  present  congress  will  pass  a  mili 
tary  program  that  will  impose  upon  the 
people  of  the  United  States  the  great 
est  tax  burden  for  an  alleged  prepared 
ness  against  an  alleged  danger  that  has 
ever  been  known  in  any  country  at  peace  with  all 
the  world. 

The  appropriations  by  the  present  congress  for 
all  military  purposes,  that  is  to  say  for  army  and 
navy  and  coast  defense,  military  academies,  naval 
academies  and  pensions,  will  approximate  the  sum 
of  $840,000,000. 

For  the  same  purpose  a  year  ago  congress  appro 
priated  in  round  numbers  $429,000,000.  The  ap 
propriation  for  this  year  is  nearly  double  that  of  a 
year  ago. 

This  appropriation  is  so  colossal  as  to  stagger  the 
imagination.  Applying  the  figures  to  Wisconsin 
we  find  that  Wisconsin's  share  of  this  military 
and  naval  appropriation  will  be  approximately 
$20,000,000. 

This  is  equivalent  to  $8  per  capita,  that  is  $8 
each  for  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  state. 
Counting  five  persons  to  the  family  it  is  equivalent 
to  $40  for  each  family. 


Militarism  191 

You  understand  that  government  revenues  are 
largely  raised  by  tariffs  or  taxes  on  the  things  we 
eat  and  wear,  and  use  in  our  daily  life.  As  a  gen 
eral  rule  it  is  not  a  direct  tax  and  you  do  not  ap 
preciate  the  day  of  reckoning,  but  it  is  a  constant 
drain  on  the  resources  of  the  American  people. 
There  is  something  to  pay  today  and  every  day. 
It  goes  into  the  cost  of  living  and  adds  to  the  bur 
dens  of  the  poor. 

What  do  we  want  of  an  increased  navy  and  an 
increased  army  such  as  this  great  military  program 
provides?  What  changed  conditions  warrant  doub 
ling  the  appropriation  of  a  year  ago?  There  is  ab 
solutely  nothing  in  the  situation,  nothing  in  the 
conditions  that  can  be  made  to  justify  placing  this 
extortionate  tax  burden  upon  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  There  is  not  one  substantial  reason 
why  this  congress  should  double  the  appropriation 
for  military  purposes  at  this  time. 

They  claim  that  we  are  preparing  for  defense, 
not  for  aggression.  Logically  we  should  inquire 
first  of  all  as  to  our  coast  defenses,  should  we  not? 
What  about  our  coast  defenses? 

The  highest  authority  on  this  subject  is  Gen. 
Erasmus  Weaver.  He  testified  before  the  house 
committee  on  military  affairs  that  "We  have  the 
best  coast  defenses  in  the  world.  The  guns  now 
mounted  and  those  contemplated  will  give  us  an 
entirely  satisfactory  defense." 

Speech  at  Menomonee  Falls,  Wisconsin,  1916. 
Prepare  for  Peaceful  Industry  not  War 

According  to  the  statement  of  Gen.  Nelson  A. 
Miles,  we  have  expended  $200,000,000  upon  our 


192  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

coast  defenses.  I  do  not  disparage  expenditures  for 
this  purpose.  I  give  them  my  cordial  support. 
Coast  fortifications,  coast  artillery  and  a  sufficient 
mobile  force  of  soldiers  for  coast  and  harbor  de 
fense,  I  will  as  strongly  support  as  any  other  man. 
They  are  for  defense.  They  cannot  be  used  for 
overseas  conquest ;  they  cannot  be  used  to  coerce 
weaker  nations  in  the  interest  of  speculative  in 
vestors  in  foreign  countries.  They  offer  little  or  no 
inducement  for  powerful  wrar  traders  to  lobby  con 
gress  for  extravagant  appropriations.  They  con 
stitute  one  class  of  expenditures  for  preparedness 
which  makes  for  peace  instead  of  war. 

Just  in  the  proportion  that  they  destroy  the  sol 
diery  of  Europe,  just  as  they  feed  the  men  between 
18  and  45  years  of  age  to  the  cannons,  wiping  out 
ten  to  twelve  millions  of  the  virile  manhood  of  the 
world,  just  by  so  much  the  reasons  diminish  why 
we  should  begin  an  extravagant,  extortionate  pro 
gram  of  taxation  upon  the  people  of  this  country 
for  w-hat  we  call  preparedness. 

I  want  you  to  understand  that  for  the  past  15 
years  our  naval  appropriations  have  exceeded  those 
of  Germany  by  50  per  cent.,  they  have  exceeded 
those  of  Japan  by  300  per  cent.,  and  now  in  this 
last  year  of  our  Lord  1916,  we  double  the  appro 
priation  of  the  preceding  year,  and  the  appropria 
tion  of  1915  was  $55,000,000  more  than  Great  Brit 
ain  had  expended  on  her  navy  during  any  year  of 
peace.  Compare  the  preparations  for  peace,  with  the 
preparations  for  war.  The  Panama  canal,  the  great 
est  and  most  extensive  piece  of  engineering  the 
world  has  ever  seen,  cost  the  United  States  $400,- 


Militarism  193 

000,000.  But  one  appropriation  for  war  preparation 
cost  the  United  States  more  than  twice  the  vast 
sum,  or  nearly  $800,000,000. 

We  have  better  uses  for  our  money. 
Beneficent  Use  of  Money 

Let  us  prepare  the  manhood  and  the  womanhood 
of  our  country  for  the  struggles  of  peace ;  more  com 
pensation  for  the  industrial  soldiers  who  fall  by  the 
•>vayside  by  reason  of  the  hazards  of  their  occupa 
tions  ;  more  compensation  to  their  widows  and 
children  ;  pensions  for  the  aged  and  infirm  who  have 
failed  in  the  struggle  of  life  to  gain  a  pittance 
against  old  age  or  misfortune ;  more  wages ;  more 
education  ;  more  money  for  the  common  good ;  more 
money  to  fight  contagious  diseases.  This  is  the 
preparedness  toward  which  we  should  turn.  We 
should  spend  less  to  prepare  to  kill  and  more  to 
prepare  to  live. 

I  stand  for  adequate  defense  of  our  country 
against  any  aggressor,  but  when  our  capitalists 
draw  their  money  from  this  country  to  stake  it  on 
the  turn  of  fortune's  wheel  in  some  foreign  land, 
let  them  take  trie  gambler's  chance.  If  money  is  to 
be  spent  to  make  their  foreign  risks  secure,  let  it 
be  their  own  money.  If  lives  are  to  be  risked,  men 
sacrificed  to  protect  their  possessions  in  foreign 
lands,  let  it  be  their  own  lives  that  take  the  hazard. 
Believing  in  democracy,  the  right  of  self-govern 
ment — ready  to  defend  the  precious  heritage  of  our 
own  sovereignty — let  us  here  and  now^  resolve  and 
declare  that  we  will  never  permit  the  armed  force 
of  the  United  States  to  be  used  to  despoil  our  sister 
republics  of  their  property,  nor  to  interfere  with 


1 94  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

their  right  to  govern  themselves  according  to  their 
own  standard,  nor  violate  their  sovereignty — as 
sacred  to  them  as  our  sovereignty  is  to  us. 

Mr.  President,  the  interests  that  are  behind  this 
preparedness  program  in  the  United  States  do 
not  fear  Germany,  do  not  fear  England,  do  not 
fear  any  nation  on  this  earth ;  but  they  do  want  a 
large  army,  they  do  want  a  large  navy.  It  fits  into 
the  commercial,  industrial,  and  imperialistic  schemes 
of  the  great  financial  masters  of  this  country. 

Senators  may  think  it  expedient  to  vote  for  this 
increased  appropriation  at  this  time.  The  people 
may  be  under  a  certain  vague  fear  and  in  doubt 
now,  but  when  they  see  that  their  fears  have  been 
played  upon,  when  the  tax  burden  comes,  when  the 
weight  begins  to  press  down,  when  you  double  on 
every  member  of  the  family  the  cost  of  sustaining 
this  military  program,  then  you  will  be  called  to 
account,  then  you  will  have  to  answer  their  stern, 
deliberate,  second  judgment. 

The  danger  of  an  attack  upon  our  country  has 
been  made  to  appear  very  real  and  very  imminent. 
It  has  been  painted  in  lurid  colors— motion  pictures 
showing  New  York's  splendid  edifices  toppling  to 
destruction  under  the  shots  of  enemy  guns,  the 
enemy  garbed  to  convey  the  idea  that  they  are  Ger 
mans  ;  volumes  written  to  show  New  York  and  New 
Orleans  and  San  Francisco  already  captured;  that 
the  foreign  hordes  are  sweeping  across  the  coun 
try — have  these  volumes  been  sent  to  you,  Sena 
tors?  I  have  received  them.  Who  do  you  suppose 
pays  for  all  this?  Why,  the  Du  Pont  Powder  Co. 
had  a  hand  in  it;  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Co.  doubt- 


Militarism  195 

less  made  its  contribution  of  millions  of  money. 
It  was  paid  for  out  of  the  bloody  profits  made  from 
shipping  arms  and  ammunition  abroad  within  the 
last  year. 

True,  the  American  people  may  be  influenced  by 
the  advertisements  of  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Co.,  may, 
be  swayed  by  the  headlines  and  editorials  of  the 
great  metropolitan  press.  They  may  be  deeply 
moved,  the  blood  may  tingle  and  the  pulse  quick 
ened  to  the  strains  of  hundreds  of  bands  playing  as 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  and  women  march 
in  parade ;  but  when  it  is  known  that  many  Ameri 
can  citizens  felt  impelled  to  march  in  fear  of  a 
penalty — the  loss  of  wages  or  of  being  discharged — 
it  alters  folks'  attitude  as  to  the  impressiveness  of 
such  demonstrations. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  July  19-20,  1916. 
Mexico  and  Financial  Imperialism 

Back  of  all  modern  war  is  practically  one  policy. 
It  is  financial  imperialism.  It  is  the  scheme  of  using 
the  surplus  wealth  wrung  unlawfully  from  the  peo 
ple  of  a  country  by  the  financial  interests  that  dom 
inate  that  country,  and  the  use  of  that  surplus 
\vealth  through  investments  in  the  weaker,  unde 
veloped  governments  of  the  world. 

The  Boer  war  which  lasted  three  years  cost  Great 
Britain  $1,250,000,000. 

And  it  did  not  accomplish  anything! 

Keep  that  in  mind  when  some  of  the  gentlemen 
who  are  speaking  for  American  investments  in  Mex 
ico  clamor  for  war  with  Mexico.  There  is  a  mo 
mentous  lesson  in  the  efforts  of  the  representatives 
of  two  nations  to  arrive  at  an  understanding  and 


196  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

avert  the  consequences  of  war.  But  if  there  should 
come  some  flaming  up  of  passions,  if  there  should 
come  some  opportunity  for  the  representatives  of 
those  who  have  bought  Mexico  with  American 
money  and  want  to  rule  it — want  intervention — then 
let  us  all  remember  what  happened  to  England  in 
an  effort  to  subjugate  the  Boers. 

If  we  ever  enter  upon  the  conquest  of  Mexico — 
and  the  office  of  prophecy  is  a  somewhat  hazardous 
one — let  me  say  that  in  a  hundred  years  we  will 
riot  conquer  Mexico  ;  we  will  maintain  for  a  hun 
dred  years  a  standing  army  of  a  million  men  in 
Mexico ;  we  will  place  the  burden  of  that  on  the 
American  people. 

If  the  time  ever  comes  when  we  shall  attempt  to 
invade  Mexico,  it  will  be  because  American  capital 
has  gone  down  there  and  invested.  They  who  own 
Mexico  are  the  ones  who  want  war. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  it  may  be  a  new  doctrine  to 
the  senate  of  the  United  States,  but  I  think  it  is 
pretty  nearly  time  to  have  the  issue  made.  It  may 
not  win  in  the  first  struggle  here.  It  will  win  ulti 
mately,  because  it  is  everlastingly  right.  That  is 
the  reason  for  the  amendment  I  have  offered. 

I  believe  every  dollar  that  goes  into  a  foreign 
country  and  every  man  who  goes  into  a  foreign 
country  with  his  money  looking  for  profits  should 
accept  the  laws  of  the  country  as  the  arbiter  to 
which  he  will  appeal  for  justice  if  he  feels  at  any 
time  that  he  is  required  to  protect  his  rights  in  that 
country. 

The  thing  that  attracts  capital  to  Mexico  is  its 
rich  natural  resources.  Thev  have  an  unstable 


Militarism  197 

ernment  there.  That  unstable  government  lowers 
the  value  of  property.  American  money  there  can 
buy  for  $100,000  because  of  the  government  con 
ditions,  property  that  is  worth  a  million  dollars. 
Now,  if  this  new  doctrine  that  the  flag  shall  follow 
the  investment  of  the  citizen  is  to  prevail,  then  our 
government  is  to  be  called  upon  to  guarantee  the 
speculative  investments  of  its  citizens  in  the  coun 
tries  where  the  governments  are  weak,  and  so  to 
make  those  speculative  investments  worth  face 
value. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  do  not  want  war 
with  Mexico.  The  Mexican  people  do  not  want 
war  with  us.  And  both  President  Wilson  and  Car- 
ranza  have  manifestly  done  everything  in  their 
power  to  avert  war. 

What  is  it.  then,  that  menaces  the  peace  of  these 
neighboring  countries? 

The  Game  of  Foreign  Investors 

It  dates  far  back  of  the  Columbus  raid.  That 
outrage  upon  the  residents  of  one  of  our  border 
towns  was  the  logical  outcome  of  conditions  for 
which  the  Mexican  people  were  in  nowise  respon 
sible.  Worse  than  that !  Both  Governments  were 
the  victims  of  traitors  in  our  midst.  For  it  is 
charged  upon  the  highest  authority  that  the  raid 
was  inspired  and  arranged  for  in  our  own  country. 

There  you  have  it !  The  gentlemen  who  want 
war  with  Mexico  are  the  gentlemen  who  "have 
Mexican  properties."  They  are  a  very  powerful  lot. 
They  own  most  of  the  United  States  and  a  good  big 
slice  of  Mexico.  They  are  our  captains  of  indus- 


198  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

try ;  our  masters  of  finance.  They  own  or  control 
our  great  newspapers.  They  are  for  a  "strong  Mex 
ican  policy,"  a  "strong  foreign  policy,"  a  big  army, 
a  big  navy. 

There  is  just  one  risk,  and  that  is  a  large  risk. 
The  governments  are  most  of  them  weak.  Revolu 
tions  in  many  of  them  are  frequent ;  property  rights 
are  insecure. 

But  a  scheme  has  been  worked  out  by  the  mas 
ters  of  finance  to  make  foreign  investments  as  good 
as  a  government  bond.  Just  put  the  stars  and 
stripes  back  of  them. 

The  interests  of  this  country  are  confronted  with 
the  alternative  of  loaning  their  surplus  wealth  to 
the  farmer,  to  the  merchant,  to  the  small  enterprise 
at  a  constantly  lowering  interest  rate  or  of  with 
drawing  the  surplus  capital  from  this  country, 
keeping  interest  rates  high  here  and  going  down 
into  the  weak  governments  of  Mexico,  Central  and 
South  America,  which  are  rich  in  natural  resources, 
minerals,  oil,  timber,  coal,  and  iron,  surpassing  all 
imagination,  we  are  told,  and  acquiring  control 
there. 

As  a  protest  against  the  use  of  our  navy  to  en 
force  the  claims  of  these  interests,  I  have  offered 
the  following  amendment : 

Provided,  That  no  battleship,  cruiser,  scout 
cruiser,  torpedo-boat,  destroyer,  or  submarine  here 
in  appropriated  for  shall  be  employed  in  any  manner 
to  coerce  or  compel  the  collection  of  any  pecuniary 
claim  of  any  kind,  class,  or  nature,  or  to  enforce  any 
claim  or  right  to  any  grant  or  concession  for  or  on 


Militarism  IQ9 

behalf  of  any  private  citizen,  copartnership,  or  cor 
poration  of  the  United  States  against  the  govern 
ment  of  Mexico  or  of  any  Central  or  South  Ameri 
can  government. 

When  our  capitalists  withdraw  their  money  from 
this  country  to  stake  it  on  the  turn  of  fortune's 
wheel  in  some  foreign  land,  let  them  take  the  gam 
bler's  chance. 

If  money  is  to  be  spent  to  make  their  foreign 
risks  secure,  let  it  be  their  own  money.  If  lives  are 
to  be  risked  to  protect  their  Mexican  mines — their 
Central  and  South  American  concessions — let  it  be 
their  own  lives  that  take  the  hazard. 

Believing  in  democracy,  in  the  right  of  self-gov 
ernment — ready  to  defend  the  precious  heritage  of 
our  own  sovereignty — let  us  here  and  nowr  resolve 
and  declare  that  we  will  never  permit  the  armed 
forces  of  the  United  States  to  be  used  to  despoil 
our  sister  republics  of  their  property,  interfere  with 
their  right  to  govern  themselves  according  to  their 
own  standards  or  violate  their  sovereignty — as 
sacred  to  them  as  American  sovereignty  is  to  us. 
Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  July  19-20,  1916. 


XV 
WAR 


The   Meaning  of  War 

T  is  well  for  us  to  remember  that  war 
is  always  cruel ;  that  its  iron  tread 
means  destruction  and  devastation, 
whether  its  march  is  across  Europe  or 
from  Atlanta  to  the  sea ;  that  war 
arouses  all  the  fiercest  human  passions ;  that  there 
are  always  cases  of  brutality  and  outrage — and  that 
usually  there  is  quite  as  much  of  it  on  one  side  as 
upoiKthe  other. 

^  La  Follette's  Magazine,  Oct.  17,  1914. 

Resolution  for  Conference  of  Neutral  Nations 

WHEREAS  the  most  powerful  nations  of  Europe 
have  been  engaged  for  over  half  a  year  in  a  terrible 
war  of  cumulative  intensity  and  increasing  destruc 
tion  of  human  life ;  and  whereas,  recent  inventions 
have  revolutionized  methods  of  warfare  giving  rise 
to  unprecedented  situations  and  conditions ;  and 
whereas  the  ever  widening  field  of  hostile  operations 
in  the  war  zone  encroaches  more  and  more  day  by 
day  upon  the  common  highways  of  commerce,  in 
viting  to  complications  which  may  at  any  moment 
entagle  one  or  more  of  the  neutral  nations  in  situa 
tions  of  the  gravest  peril ;  and 

WHEREAS  it  becomes  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  at  the  earliest  moment  a  conference  of  the  neu- 


I 


ROBERT  M.  LA  FOLLETTE 


Washington,     I).     (,' 


War  201 

tral  nations  should  be  called  to  consider  the  rights 
ol  neutrals  under  existing  conditions,  to  work  out  a 
policy  for  the  preservation  of  their  own  peace,  and 
to  tender  their  best  offices  of  mediation  to  the  belli 
gerent  nations ;  and 

WHEREAS  we,  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
are  bound  to  each  of  the  warring  nations  by  ties  of 
blood  and  country,  compelling  in  us  a  profound  in* 
terest  in  the  cessation  of  hostilities  and  the  restora 
tion  of  peace,  and  by  inheritance  are  best  fitted  to 
make  initial  appeal  to  each  nation ;  now,  therefore,  be  it 

RESOLVED,  ETC.,  that  the  president  be  author 
ized  to  convey  to  all  neutral  nations  the  desire  of 
this  government  that  an  international  conference  be 
held  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  by  co-operation 
and  through  its  friendly  offices : 

First.  The  early  cessation  of  hostilities  and  the 
establishment  of  peace  among  the  warring  nations 
of  Europe; 

Second.  The  consideration  of  uniform  rules  and 
regulations  for  the  general  limitation  of  armaments 
and  the  nationalization  of  the  manufacture  of  all 
equipment  and  supplies  used  exclusively  for  military 
and  naval  purposes ; 

Third.  The  consideration  of  rules  and  regula 
tions  for  the  prohibition  of  the  export  of  arms,  am 
munitions,  artillery,  vessels  of  war,  armor  plate,  tor 
pedoes,  or  any  other  thing  designed  exclusively  for 
military  and  naval  purposes  from  one  country  to 
another; 

Fourth.  The  ultimate  establishment  of  an  inter 
national  tribunal  where  any  nation  may  be  heard  on 
any  issue  involving  rights  vital  to  its  peace  and  the 


2O2  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

development  of  its  national  life,  a  tribunal  whose 
decrees  shall  be  enforced  by  the  enlightened  judg 
ment  of  the  world. 

Fifth.  The  consideration  of  plans  for  the  federa 
tion  of  the  neutral  nations  in  the  adoption  of  rules 
and  regulations  which  will  provide  for  the  neutral 
ization  of  certain  waters  and  maritime  trade  routes, 
and  such  other  and  further  action  as  shall  insure  if 
possible,  the  peaceful  maintenance  and  preservation 
of  the  sovereign  rights  of  neutral  commerce  against 
dangers  to  \vhich  it  is  exposed  through  the  extra 
ordinary  conditions  developed  by  the  world's  great 
est  war ;  and 

Sixth.  For  such  other  and  further  action  as  may 
tend,  however  remotely,  to  establish  permanent 
world  peace. 

RESOLVED  FURTHER,  that  the  president  be 
authorized  to  appoint  commissioners  to   represent 
the  United  States  at  any  conference  whether  called 
by  the  United  States  or  by  any  other  nation. 
Introduced  in  the  U.  S.  Senate,  by 

Senator  La  Follette,  Feb.  8,  1915. 
Appeal  for  Conference  of  Neutral  Powers 

The  neutrality  of  the  United  States  cannot  and 
should  not  be  that  of  selfish  indifference.  It  is  based 
on  sympathetic  love  and  understanding.  As  a  peo 
ple  we  are  intensely  interested  in  the  cessation  of  a 
war  that  is  slaying  our  kindred,  bringing  indescrib 
able  desolation  to  the  lands  we  love  and  to  the 
homes  of  our  fathers. 

We  do  not  want  to  see  the  map  of  Europe 
changed  by  might  of  conquest.  We  cannot  believe 
that  it  is  in  the  interest  of  human  progress  that  any 


War  203 

one  of  the  nations  should  be  wiped  off  the  face  of 
the  earth.  It  is  our  inherent  desire  that  each  should 
preserve  its  natural  autonomy;  that  each  should 
have  the  largest  opportunity  for  self-development, 
the  largest  share  in  the  world's  progress;  and  that 
each  should  be  given,  as  of  right,  access  to  the  high 
ways  of  the  sea. 

It  is  a  mistaken  policy  that  assumes  a  community 
of  nations  can  prosper  any  more  than  can  a  com 
munity  of  individuals  by  one  or  more  tyrannizing 
over  the  others  and  monopolizing  the  world's  mar 
kets.  The  world's  greatest  progress  must  be  best 
served  by  the  largest  possible  development  of  the 
national  life  of  each  country.  We  believe  there  is 
still  room  for  all  in  the  vast  and  undeveloped  areas 
of  the  earth. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  not  attempted  to  discuss 
in  any  comprehensive  way  the  vital  questions  with 
which  the  proposed  conference  would  deal.  These 
problems  the  nations  themselves  must  solve. 

What  stands  out  in  bold  relief  is  the  unmistak 
able  duty  of  the  American  congress  to  authorize  the 
president  to  convey  to  neutral  nations  the  desire  of 
this  government  for  an  international  conference  for 
the  purpose  of  promoting  by  co-operation  and 
through  its  friendly  offices  the  early  cessation  of 
hostilities,  the  establishment  of  peace  among  the 
warring  nations  of  Europe,  the  clear  definition  of 
the  rights  of  neutral  nations,  and  for  the  other  pur 
poses  to  which  I  have  briefly  adverted. 

Speech,  "Conference  of  Neutral  Powers  to 
Secure   World  Peace,"   U.  S.  Senate, 

February  12,  1915. 


2O4  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Congress  Should  Prescribe  Foreign  Policies 

As  I  understand  the  pending  controversy,  the 
president  assumes  it  to  be  the  exclusive  prerogative 
of  the  executive  to  pursue  any  foreign  policy,  what 
ever  the  issue,  independent  of  any  suggestion  from 
either  or  both  branches  of  congress. 

The  peremptory  manner  in  which  the  administra 
tion  forced  action  upon  the  resolution  in  the  senate, 
the  extraordinary  proceedings  by  which  the  resolu 
tion  was  changed  and  tabled,  without  opportunity 
for  debate  or  explanation,  warrants  the  belief  that 
the  president  denies  congress  the  right  to  express 
its  opinion  upon  a  matter  which  lies  within  its  con 
stitutional  authority  quite  as  much  as  that  of  the 
executive. 

I  believe  it  to  be  vital  to  the  safety  and  perpetuity 
of  this  government  that  congress  should  assert 
and  maintain  its  right  to  a  voice  in  declaring  and 
prescribing  the  foreign  policy  of  the  United  States. 

And,  sir,  there  is  a  larger  international  aspect  of 
this  question,  with  its  accompanying  responsibility, 
that  cannot  be  shirked  or  ignored.  Across  the 
water  the  nations  of  Europe  are  giving  their  life- 
blood  in  a  fratricidal  struggle,  which  in  its  inception 
the  people  neither  desired  nor  sanctioned. 

And  now  the  plain  people,  the  saner  people  of  the 
warring  countries  are  organizing.  For  what?  Why, 
to  make  sure  that  never  again  after  this  conflict  has 
ceased  shall  the  autocratic  heads  of  European  gov 
ernments  have  it  in  their  power,  through  secret  di- 


War  205 

plomacy,   to   bring   on    such   another   world   catas 
trophe. 

Democratic  control  of  foreign  policies  is  a  basic 
principle  of  all  organized  effort  looking  for  the 
future  establishment  of  permanent  world  peace.  To 
this  end,  throughout  the  world,  leagues  of  earnest, 
determined  men  and  women,  animated  by  a  common 
purpose,  are  formulating  plans,  based  on  the  pro 
visions  by  which,  in  this  country,  one  or  both  of  the 
legislative  branches  of  government  have  a  share  in 
the  control  of  international  affairs. 

Shall  we  in  this  crisis  of  the  world's  history  fail 
to  assert  our  constitutional  rights  and  by  our  negli 
gence  and  default  permit  the  establishment  in  this 
country  of  that  exclusive  executive  control  over 
foreign  affairs  that  the  people  of  Europe  are  now 
repenting  amid  the  agonies  of  war? 

Speech,  "Congress  has  a  Right  to  an  Au 
thoritative  Voice  in  Declaring  and  Pre 
scribing  the  Foreign  Policy  of  the  United 
States''  U.  S.  Senate,  March  10,  1916. 

Consult  the  People 

War  is  the  most  ghastly  experience  that  can  come 
to  any  country.  And  always  it  is  the  people — not 
the  handful  of  men  in  positions  of  power — who  must 
pay  the  full  price.  The  price  in  dollars  and  cents. 
The  price  in  dismembered  families.  The  price  in 
heart  agonies.  The  price  in  bodily  suffering.  The 
price  in  numbed  minds.  The  price  in  precious  hu 
man  lives.  The  price  in  putting  together  the  na 
tion's  pieces,  afterwards.  Always  it  is  the  masses 
who  pay. 


206  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Why  not  let  those  who  must  pay  have  something 
to  say  ?  Why  not  let  the  people  themselves,  on 
whom  the  burden  of  war  falls,  have  a  voice, — some 
direct  expression, — along  with  finance  and  diplo 
macy,  in  determining  whether  there  shall  be  war,  or 
whether  there  shall  not  be  war? 

I  believe  that  on  a  question  like  this,  the  gravest 
that  can  possibly  come  before  the  people  of  a  na 
tion,  more  than  on  any  other  problem  of  national 
policy  or  well-being,  the  people  should  be  consulted. 

The  day  is  coming  when  the  people,  who  always 
pay  the  full  price,  are  going  to  have  the  final  say 
over  their  own  destinies.  They  themselves  are  go 
ing  to  decide  whether  they  shall  spill  their  blood  out 
upon  murderous  battle  fields.  They  themselves 
shall  decide  what  questions  of  "defense,"  of  "ag 
gression,"  or  of  "national  honor"  may  be  involved, 
compelling  enough  to  make  them  desire  to  kill  and 
be  killed.  They  who  do  the  fighting  and  the  dying 
will  do  the  deciding. 

The  day  is  not  yet  here.  We  should  all  strive  to 
hasten  its  coming.  Meanwhile  we  should  make  it 
possible  for  the  people  to  give  voice  to  their  deep 
convictions  in  a  way  that  will  register.  Let  us  have 
an  advisory  vote  upon  this  matter  of  war  that  will 
serve  as  a  dictaphone  within  the  chambers  of  con 
gress,  through  which  the  voice  of  the  people — the 
people  who  pay  and  who  suffer — shall  indeed  reach 
the  ears  of  those  who  represent  them  and  who  have, 
under  the  constitution,  the  sole  power  to  declare 
war. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  May,  1916. 


War  207 

Armed    Ship    Bill    Gave    War-Making    Power    to 
President 

I  was  opposed  to  the  armed  ship  bill.  Under  my 
oath  as  a  senator  it  was  my  duty  to  do  everything 
legitimately  within  my  power  to  defeat  it,  and  I  ex 
ercised  my  constitutional  rights  and  discharged  my 
constitutional  obligation  to  defeat  the  measure,  in 
so  far  as  permitted  by  the  tyrannical  action  of  a 
majority.  This  majority  as  I  believe,  and  as  I  think 
the  record  plainly  shows,  resorted  to  a  perversion  of 
the  rules  and  to  the  very  filibustering  methods 
which  it  so  violently  condemned,  in  order  to  pre 
vent  me  from  obtaining  the  floor  to  speak  against 
the  bill. 

The  armed  ship  bill  provided  that  the  president  be 
authorized  to  supply  our  merchant  vessels  "with 
arms  and  also  the  necessary  ammunition  and  means 
of  making  use  of  them,"  also  that  the  president  be 
"authorized  and  empowered  to  employ  such  other 
instrumentalities  and  methods  as  may  in  his  judg 
ment  and  discretion  seem  necessary  and  adequate 
to  protect  such  vessels."  It  appropriated  $100,000,- 
ooo  to  be  expended  by  the  president  "for  the  pur 
pose  of  carrying  into  effect  the  foregoing  provi 
sions." 

The  bill  attempted  to  confer  upon  the  executive 
not  only  the  authority  to  place  guns  and  gunners 
upon  merchant  ships  and  send  them  to  sea  with 
orders  to  fire  on  German  submarines  at  sight,  but 
sought  to  empower  the  president  to  use  any  other 
method  and  any  other  instrumentalities  in  his  judg 
ment  necessary  to  protect  such  merchant  ships. 


208  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Give  validity  and  effect  to  such  provisions  and  it 
removes  every  limitation  upon  his  acts. 

He  might  do  whatever  it  pleased  him  to  do  and 
there  could  be  no  check  or  halt  upon  him. 

He  might  decide  to  order  our  navy  out  to  convoy 
merchantmen  loaded  with  arms  and  ammunition,  or 
with  food  and  clothing  and  shoes  for  the  allied 
armies. 

He  might  decide  that  our  navy  should  patrol  the 
trans-Atlantic  lanes  through  the  German  war  zone 
hunting  submarines  in  the  interest  of  the  owners  of 
our  munition  ships. 

He  might  decide  that  the  best  way  to  protect  our 
merchant  ships  would  be  to  land  an  army  in  Ger 
many  and  destroy  the  Krupp  works  and  any  other 
manufacturing  plants  where  Germany  is  construct 
ing  submarines. 

Nowhere  would  there  be  lodged  any  power  to 
prevent  any  president  from  doing  anything  his 
judgment  dictated  with  the  army  and  navy  to  pro 
tect  the  merchant  ships  of  our  war  traders. 

If  the  language  of  this  bill  does  not  seek  to  confer 
authority  which  would  leave  it  in  his  discretion  to 
make  war,  then  there  is  no  power  in  human  lan 
guage  which  could  accomplish  that  result. 

The  armed  ship  bill  is  therefore  contrary  to  the 
letter  and  spirit  of  the  constitution,  \vhich  expressly 
vests  the  war  power  in  congress — without  which 
provision  the  constitution  could  not  have  been 
adopted. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  March,  1917. 


War  209 

People  Opposed  to  Entering  the  War 

For  my  own  part,  I  look  upon  Europe  as  cursed 
with  a  contagious,  a  deadly  plague,  whose  spread 
threatens  to  devastate  the  civilized  world.  If  it 
were  indeed  the  Black  Death  that  was  mowing 
down  its  millions  of  victims,  instead  of  this  more 
ghastly  war,  we  should  not  hesitate  to  quarantine 
against  it;  we  should  keep  our  ships  in  their  ports 
and  our  people  at  home  without  any  hesitation  what 
soever;  all  personal  consideration,  all  thought  of 
material  loss,  or  commercial  inconvenience  would 
fall  before  the  necessity  of  protecting  our  people 
from  being  stricken  with  the  dread  disease. 

I  am  not  an  extremist,  I  do  not  say  there  may 
not  be  supreme  principles  for  which  men  must  fight 
to  the  death  as  a  last  resort.  But  I  do  believe  that 
as  organized  society  in  its  slowr  evolution  has  de 
veloped  more  rational  means  of  settling  individual 
differences  than  brute  force,  so  must  the  nations  of 
the  world  ultimately  find  other  ways  of  deciding 
their  disagreements  than  war. 

So  far  as  the  masses  of  men  who  are  killing  each 
other  are  concerned,  the  European  war  is  a  bootless 
conflict.  The  multitudes  who  are  dying  in  the 
trenches  and  the  millions  who  are  suffering  more 
agonizing  pain  at  home,  do  not  know  what  it  is  all 
about.  They  are  doing  their  patriotic  duty  as  they 
have  been  told  to  do  it. 

It  is  unthinkable  that  with  this  awful  object  les 
son  before  them,  the  American  people  are  never 
theless  today  being  stampeded  into  war  in  blind 
thoughtlessness  of  its  awful  consequences.  Thirty- 


210  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

seven  million  men  are  now  under  arms  in  Europe. 
The  peace  strength  of  the  standing  armies  of 
Europe,  before  the  war  began,  was  less  than  five 
millions.  It  follows  that  more  than  thirty-two  mil 
lions  have  been  drawn  from  the  farms  and  industrial 
pursuits,  and  placed  in  the  trenches  to  be  mowed 
down  at  the  rate  of  five  thousand  a  day.  The 
United  States  once  in,  will  stay  in  to  the  end.  Who 
can  foretell  what  it  means? 

The  United  Press,  from  the  casualty  lists  of  the 
belligerent  nations,  estimates  that  more  than  21,- 
000,000  men  have  been  killed,  wounded  or  reported 
missing,  to  date,  affecting  a  hundred  million  non- 
combatants.  And  these  brutal  facts  of  death  and 
mutilation  only  suggest  the  horrors  of  the  insane 
conflict — women  and  children  homeless,  desecrated, 
starving.  Already  $70,000,000,000  of  debt  piled  up. 
For  unnumbered  years  to  come,  generations  of  help 
less  people  must  bow  their  bended  backs  under  the 
tax  burdens  entailed  by  this  war  of  destruction. 
For  long  years  to  come,  all  the  resources  that 
should  go  to  the  world's  betterment,  mortgaged  be 
yond  redemption  to  pay  for  this  awful  holocaust. 
Think  of  it !  Any  economical  loss  because  of  the 
interruption  of  commerce,  is  but  a  grain  of  sand, 
compared  to  the  colossal  costs  of  war. 

Ask  any  plain  citizen  if  he  wants  war.  The  in 
voluntary  answer  is  "we  ought  to  know  better  from 
the  lesson  in  Europe."  How  can  we  justify  the 
insistence  of  our  right  to  push  through  the  mines 
and  submarines  of  the  war  zone  when  that  right  is 
compared  with  the  obligation  to  protect  all  our 
people  here  at  home  from  the  terrible  effect  of  war? 


War  211 

If  the  silent  masses  who  found  opportunity  for 
expression  at  the  November  election,  could  today 
make  themselves  heard  above  this  clamor  for  war, 
instigated  and  sustained  by  the  money  power  and 
subjugated  press,  they  would  with  even  a  stronger 
voice,  pray  God  that  this  country  be  kept  out  of  war. 
La  Follette's  Magazine,  March,  1917. 

War  With  Germany 

Mr.  President,  I  had  supposed  until  recently  that 
it  \vas  the  duty  of  senators  and  representatives  in 
congress  to  vote  and  act  according  to  their  convic 
tions  on  all  public  matters  that  came  before  them 
for  consideration  and  decision. 

Quite  another  doctrine  has  recently  been  pro 
mulgated  by  certain  newspapers,  which  unfortu 
nately  seems  to  have  found  considerable  support 
elsewhere,  and  that  is  the  doctrine  of  "standing  back 
of  the  president,"  without  inquiring  whether  the 
president  is  right  or  wrong.  For  myself  I  have 
never  subscribed  to  that  doctrine  and  never  shall. 
I  shall  support  the  president  in  the  measures  he 
proposes  when  I  believe  them  to  be  right.  I  shall 
oppose  measures  proposed  by  the  president  when  I 
believe  them  to  be  wrong.  The  fact  that  the  matter 
which  the  president  submits  for  consideration  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  is  only  an  additional  reason 
why  we  should  be  sure  that  we  are  right  and  not  be 
swerved  from  that  conviction  or  intimidated  in  its 
expression  by  any  influence  of  power  whatsoever. 
If  it  is  important  for  us  to  speak  and  vote  our  con 
victions  in  matters  of  internal  policy,  though  we 
may  unfortunately  be  in  disagreement  with  the 


212  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

president,  it  is  infinitely  more  important  for  us  to 
speak  and  vote  our  convictions  when  the  question 
is  one  of  peace  or  war,  certain  to  involve  the  lives 
and  fortunes  of  many  of  our  people  and,  it  may  be, 
the  destiny  of  all  of  them  and  of  the  civilized  world 
as  well.  If,  unhappily,  on  such  momentous  ques 
tions  the  most  patient  research  and  conscientious 
consideration  we  could  give  to  them  leave  us  in  dis 
agreement  with  the  president,  I  know  of  no  course 
to  take  except  to  oppose,  regretfully  but  not  the  less 
firmly,  the  demands  of  the  executive. 

Speech,    "War    With    Germany," 

U.  S.  Senate,  April  4,  1917. 

The  Sovereign  Power  of  the  People 

We  need  not  disturb  ourselves  because  of  wrhat  a 
minority  may  do.  There  is  always  lodged,  and  al 
ways  will  be,  thank  the  God  above  us,  power  in  the 
people  supreme.  Sometimes  it  sleeps,  sometimes  it 
seems  the  sleep  of  death ;  but,  sir,  the  sovereign 
power  of  the  people  never  dies.  It  may  be  sup 
pressed  for  a  time,  it  may  be  misled,  befooled,  si 
lenced.  I  think,  Mr.  President,  that  it  is  being 
denied  expression  now.  I  think  there  will  come  a 
day  when  it  will  have  expression. 

The  poor,  sir,  who  are  the  ones  called  upon  to 
rot  in  the  trenches,  have  no  organized  power,  have 
no  press  to  voice  their  will'  upon  this  question  of 
peace  or  war ;  but,  oh,  Mr.  President,  at  sometime 
they  will  be  heard.  I  hope  and  I  believe  they  will 
be  heard  in  an  orderly  and  a  peaceful  way.  I  think 
they  may  be  heard  from  before  long.  I  think,  sir, 
if  we  take  this  step,  when  the  people  today  who 


War  213 

are  staggering  under  the  burden  of  supporting  fam 
ilies  at  the  present  prices  of  the  necessaries  of  life 
find  those  prices  multiplied,  when  they  are  raised 
a  hundred  per  cent,  or  200  per  cent,  as  they  will  be 
quickly,  aye,  sir,  when  beyond  that  those  who  pay 
taxes  come  to  have  their  taxes  doubled  and  again 
doubled  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  nontaxable  bonds 
held  by  Morgan  and  his  combinations,  which  have 
been  issued  to  meet  this  war,  there  will  come  an 
awakening;  they  will  have  their  day  and  they  will 
be  heard.  It  will  be  as  certain  and  as  inevitable  as 
the  return  of  the  tides,  and  as  resistless,  too. 
Speech,  "War  With  Germany," 

U.  S.  Senate,  April  4,  1917. 

True  Course  of  Neutrality 

Had  the  plain  principle  of  international  law  an 
nounced  by  Jefferson  been  followed  by  us,  we 
would  not  be  called  on  today  to  declare  war  upon 
any  of  the  belligerents.  The  failure  to  treat  the 
belligerent  nations  of  Europe  alike,  the  failure  to 
reject  the  unlawful  "war  zones"  of  both  Germany 
and  Great  Britain,  is  wholly  accountable  for  our 
present  dilemma.  We  should  not  seek  to  hide  our 
blunder  behind  the  smoke  of  battle,  to  inflame  the 
mind  of  our  people  by  half  truths  into  the  frenzy  of 
war,  in  order  that  they  may  never  appreciate  the 
real  cause  of  it  until  it  is  too  late.  I  do  not  believe 
that  our  national  honor  is  served  by  such  a  course. 
The  right  way  is  the  honorable  way. 

One  alternative  is  to  admit  our  initial  blunder  to 
enforce  our  rights  against  Great  Britain  as  we  have 
enforced  our  rights  against  Germany ;  demand  that 


214  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

both  those  nations  shall  respect  our  neutral  rights 
upon  the  high  seas  to  the  letter !  and  give  notice 
that  we  will  enforce  those  rights  from  time  forth 
against  both  belligerents  and  then  live  up  to  that 
notice. 

The  other  alternative  is  to  withdraw  our  com 
merce  from  both.  The  mere  suggestion  that  food 
supplies  would  be  withheld  from  both  sides  im 
partially  would  compel  belligerents  to  observe  the 
principle  of  freedom  of  the  seas  for  neutral  com 
merce. 

Speech,    "War    With    Germany'' 

U.  S.  Senate,  April  4,  1917. 


XVI 
DRAFT  AND  CONSCRIPTION 


The  Purpose  of  the  Draft 

OWEVER  uncertain  the  meaning  of 
some  portions  of  this  bill  may  be,  its 
main  purpose  is  clear.  About  that 
there  is  no  dispute.  The  main  pur 
pose  is  to  clothe  one  man  with  power, 
acting  through  agents  appointed  by  him,  to  en 
ter  at  will  every  home  in  our  country,  at  any 
hour  of  the  day  or  night,  using  all  the  force  neces 
sary  to  effect  the  entry,  and  violently  lay  hold  of 
1,000,000  of  our  finest  and  healthiest  and  strongest 
boys  and  against  their  will,  and  against  the  will 
and  wishes  of  their  parents  or  family,  deport  them 
across  the  seas  to  a  foreign  land,  and  to  require 
them,  under  penalty  of  death  if  they  refuse,  to 
wound  and  kill  other  young  boys  just  like  them 
selves  and  toward  whom  they  feel  no  hostility  and 
have  cause  to  feel  none. 

That  is  what  the  draft  means.  I  have  not  over 
stated — indeed,  no  one  can  overstate — the  horror 
it  is  proposed  to  perpetuate,  or  the  insult  which  it 
conveys  to  the  intelligence  and  patriotism  of  the 
people  of  this  country.  Anyone  who  would  have 
prophesied  one  short  month  ago  that  this  body 
would  seriously  consider,  under  existing  circum 
stances,  such  a  measure  as  this  would  have  raised 
a  question  as  to  his  sanity. 


216  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

For  such  action  as  it  is  proposed  to  take  by  this 
bill  under  present  conditions  there  is  no  precedent 
in  all  our  history,  and,  I  believe,  there  is  none  in  the 
history  of  any  people  making  the  slightest  claim  to 
freedom. 

The  draft  is  the  corollary  of  militarism  and  mil 
itarism  spells  death  to  democracy.  No  war  can  be 
successfully  prosecuted  that  has  not  the  spontane 
ous  support  of  the  men  who  do  the  fighting.  There 
is  not  the  shadow  of  an  excuse  for  pressing  men 
into  involuntary  military  servitude  for  the  conduct 
of  this  war. 

But  if  we  must  have  an  army  of  such  magnitude 
for  an  overseas  expedition  let  it  be  a  volunteer 
army  on  the  Canadian  and  Australian  basis.  Let 
its  ranks  be  made  up  of  free,  willing  men  who  de 
sire  to  go.  This  will  not  raise  any  constitutional 
question  nor  be  in  such  flagrant  violation  of  our 
traditions,  nor  will  it  necessitate  any  such  upheaval 
of  our  economic  life  as  this  draft  proposition  seems 
to  call  for. 

,    Speech,  "The  Draft;'  U.  S.  Senate,  April  27,  1917. 

Let  Voters  Decide 

I  come  now  to  the  amendment  I  have  proposed 
providing  for  an  advisory  vote  on  the  part  of  the 
qualified  electors  upon  the  following  question: 

"The  government  of  the  United  States  having  de 
clared  war  against  the  government  of  Germany, 
shall  the  United  States  government  at  this  time  raise 
an  army  by  draft  to  send  to  Europe  to  prosecute  the 
war?" 


Draft  and  Conscription  217 

The  methods  by  which  the  advisory  vote  can  be 
obtained  are  very  simple.  This  vote  could  be  se 
cured  while  registration  was  going  forward  under 
the  bill,  which,  according  to  my  amendment,  strikes 
out  the  draft  features  and  provides  for  raising  the 
required  number  of  men  by  voluntary  enlistment. 
Practically  no  expense  would  be  involved  in  obtain 
ing  the  vote,  and  every  voter  would  be  given 
the  opportunity  of  expressing  his  opinion  upon  this 
most  vital  question.  If  the  people  vote  in  favor  of 
the  draft  and  of  sending  the  Army  to  Europe,  that 
closes  the  discussion. 

If  the  friends  of  this  bill  are  sure  that  it  has  the 
support  of  the  people,  they  should  be  the  first  to 
agree  to  this  amendment.  If  the  principle  of  the  bill 
has  not  support  of  the  people,  it  should  be  aban 
doned. 

Speech,  "The  Draft,"  U.  S.  Senate,  April  27,  1917. 

Cost  of  War  to  the  Republic 

I  do  not  mean  to  speak  of  the  horrors  of  war.  Were 
I  to  do  so  I  should  dwell  most  upon  the  anguish  of 
those  at  home,  of  families  broken  up,  hopes  blasted, 
bodies  crippled,  insanity  and  disease,  debt  and  poverty, 
and  want  and.  famine,  which  are  only  a  few  of  the 
results  of  every  great  war.  I  would  speak  of  liberties 
lost,  constitutions  destroyed,  of  peoples  exterminated 
by  the  immediate  savagery  of  war  or  languishing  in 
bondage  for  generations  under  the  tyranny,  foreign 
or  domestic,  military  or  economic,  that  always  rides 
in  the  wake  of  war.  I  will  not  let  my  mind  dwell 
upon  the  distress  and  disaster  this  war  is  bound  to 


218  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

bring  us  in  the  future,  but  we  cannot  forget  what 
has  happened  in  the  few  days  that  have  elapsed  since 
it  began. 

What  a  transformation  has  been  wrought  during 
the  first  few  hours  of  this  war !  Only  a  few  days  ago 
we  were  at  peace  with  all  the  world  and  cherished 
nothing  but  the  kindliest  feeling  toward  the  peoples 
of  every  land.  We  were  engaged  in  peaceful  occupa 
tions.  Our  youth  were  in  the  schools  and  colleges 
of  the  country  fitting  themselves  for  the  useful  and 
helpful  work  that  they  were  to  do  in  the  world.  As 
a  nation  we  were  the  one  great  power  that  was  almost 
free  from  debt  and  in  position  to  help  bring  peace  to 
a  distracted  world.  As  a  people  we  were  prosperous. 
Our  taxes  were  relatively  light  and  cheerfully  borne 
because  they  were  expended  largely  for  objects  calcu 
lated  to  promote  our  material  and  social  welfare.  We 
were  apparently  secure  in  our  liberties,  and,  slowly 
it  may  be  but  none  the  less  surely,  we  were  winning 
peaceful  victories  for  democracy  and  self-government, 
not  only  for  ourselves  but  for  our  children  and  the 
generations  to  come,  which  we  fondly  hoped  would 
bring  a  little  nearer  the  day  of  peace  on  earth  and 
good  will  to  men. 

But  in  a  moment  all  this  has  been  changed.  We 
have  declared  war  against  a  government  and  a  people 
with  whom  we  have  always  previously  lived  in  perfect 
friendship.  We  have  made  ourselves  distrusted  or 
feared  by  other  governments  and  lost  the  power  we 
had  as  a  neutral  nation  to  promote  the  cause  of  peace. 
Already  our  most  cherished  constitutional  rights  have 
been  invaded  and  will  soon  be  destroyed.  The  agent 
provocateur  is  in  our  midst.  Men  are  being  daily 


Draft  and  Conscription  219 

cast  into  prison  in  violation  of  the  law,  and  in  many 
cases  without  even  regarding  the  forms  of  law. 

Within  a  few  months,  under  a  pretext  of  carrying 
democracy  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  we  have  done  more 
to  undermine  and  destroy  democracy  in  the  United 
States  than  it  will  be  possible  for  us  as  a  nation  to 
repair  in  a  generation  of  time. 

By  a  single  act  the  people  have  been  saddled  with  a 
burden  of  debt  amounting  to  an  average  of  four  or 
five  hundred  dollars  for  each  responsible  head  of  a 
family  in  our  country,  and  we  have  scarcely  made  a 
beginning. 

Never  in  all  my  many  years  of  experience  in  the 
house  and  in  the  senate  have  I  heard  so  much  democ 
racy  preached  and  so  little  practiced  as  during  the 
last  few  months. 

Speech,  "The  Draft"  U.  S.  Senate,  April  27,  1917. 


XVII 
WAR  TAXES  AND  PROFITEERING 

Wealth  and  War 

EALTH  has  never  yet  sacrificed  itself 
on  the  altar  of  patriotism  in  any  war. 
On  the  contrary,  it  has  ever  shown  it 
self  eager  to  take  advantage  of  the  mis 
fortunes  which  war  always  brings  to 
the  masses  of  the  people.  That  has  been  true  of 
every  war  we  have  had  in  this  country  and  of  every 
war  in  Europe  of  which  I  have  any  knowledge,  and 
it  is  certainly  true  of  the  present  war.  Every  bond 
that  is  issued  must  some  time  be  redeemed  with  in 
terest  out  of  the  taxes  that  the  people  must  pay. 
Nothing  is  gained  by  borrowing  except  that  money 
for  immediate  use  is  obtained  from  those  wrho  have 
it  to  loan,  to  be  repaid  to  them  in  the  future  with 
interest,  out  of  the  taxes  largely  exacted  from  those 
who  can  ill  afford  to  pay  them. 

Mr.  President,  to  what  extent  the  recent  "liberty 
loan"  campaign  succeeded  in  selling  these  bonds  to 
the  small  investor  I  do  not  know  but  we  all  do 
know  that  these  bonds  were  a  poor  investment  to 
the  man  of  small  means,  in  comparison  with  the  ad 
vantages  which  the  owners  of  large  incomes  could 
secure  from  investing  millions  of  their  taxable  in 
comes  in  these  nontaxable  bonds.  It  is  shown  in 
the  minority  report  on  this  bill  that  by  exempting 


War  Taxes  and  Profiteering  221 

these  bonds  from  taxation,  the  Government  has 
made  them  the  equivalent  of  an  investment  paying 
from  5  to  9  per  cent  and  more  to  persons  with  large 
incomes  who  will  escape  the  income  tax  on  every 
dollar  thus  invested ;  while  to  the  wage-earner  and 
the  man  with  a  salary  so  small  as  not  to  be  reached 
by  the  income  tax,  who  pinched  and  saved  and 
sacrificed  in  order  to  purchase  them,  they  return 
but  a  meager  3%  per  cent. 

But  this  is  not  all,  Mr.  President.  Paying  for  a 
war  mainly  by  selling  bonds  inevitably  forces  infla 
tion.  Inflation  raises  prices,  greatly  increasing  the 
cost  of  living  to  the  masses.  There  is  no  escape 
from  this  result.  As  the  Senator  from  Oklahoma 
(Mr.  Gore)  suggests,  with  sacrifice  to  the  Govern 
ment  also,  reason  and  experience  warn  us  that  the 
policy  of  financing  a  war  by  borrowing  the  larger 
part  of  the  money  required  is  in  itself  one  of  the 
severest  financial  burdens  which  war  brings  to  the 
average  man. 

The  borrowing  system  gives  an  impression  of 
false  prosperity.  Where  heavy  taxation  would  in 
duce  economy,  borrowing  induces  extravagance. 
The  government  must  bid  against  the  citizen  for 
supplies.  Prices  soar,  but  wages  and  income  do 
not  increase  correspondingly.  The  result  is  that 
the  ordinary  citizen  whose  income  only  exceeds  his 
normal  expenses  by  a  small  margin  finds  his  ex 
penses  doubled;  his  income  insufficient  to  meet  his 
needs,  even  before  the  Government  has  laid  a  single 
dollar  of  taxation  upon  his  necessaries. 

Mr.  President,  blind  is  the  man,  dull,  indeed,  the 
brain  that  does  not  read  from  the  war  histories  of 


222  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

the  world  the  fact  that  accumulated  wealth  has 
been  behind  the  wars  and  has  been  potential  enough 
with  all  the  cabinets  and  all  the  war  ministers  who 
planned  the  financing  to  make  the  prosecution  of 
the  war  a  financial  harvest.  Sir,  that  is  why  the 
world  has  had  so  many'  wars. 

Taxation  Need  not  Cripple 

The  rule  to  determine  what  is  the  largest  possi 
ble  amount  to  tax  is  plain,  though  its  application 
may  not  always  be  easy.  We  should  not  tax  high 
enough  to  cripple  industry  or  impede  production. 
Everyone  must  accept  that.  The  reason  that  we  should 
stop  at  that  point  is  not  because  of  any  rights  that 
an  individual  or  corporation  may  have  to  a  cer 
tain  income  or  return  on  investment  but  simply 
because  it  is  wisdom  on  the  part  of  the  government 
to  leave  enough  so  that  the  processes  of  produc 
tion  may  continue  uninterrupted  in  order  that  new 
taxes  for  the  government  may  be  produced.  This 
is  the  iron  law  of  necessity  in  war  time.  It  is  the 
lawr  that  is  applied  to  me ;  let  it  also  be  applied  to 
money. 

We  are  counseled  by  the  highest  economic  au 
thority,  \ve  are  admonished  by  all  history,  we  are 
commanded  by  every  consideration  of  justice  to  the 
American  boys  who  are  marked  for  slaughter,  to 
the  American  homes  already  in  the  shadow  of  death, 
to  declare  here  and  now  by  our  votes  on  this  record 
that  the  wealth  of  this  country  will  be  taken  as 
mercilessly  through  the  power  of  taxation  as  men 
are  taken  by  force  of  the  draft. 


War  Taxes  and  Profiteering  223 

It  behooves  this  congress,  Mr.  President,  to  deal 
in  these  times  with  even-handed  justice  by  the  poor 
and  the  rich.  How  the  rich  shirk  and  grind  not 
only  in  times  of  peace  but  in  times  of  war,  while 
they  prate  of  patriotism  and  national  honor  and 
democracy !  Do  not  forget  that.  They  are  now 
the  loudest  advocates  of  democracy  between  the  two 
oceans.  They  who  have  been  serving  special  inter 
ests  for  from  18  to  20  years,  undermining  and  de 
stroying  the  democracy  of  this  country,  have  be 
come  the  apostles  of  democracy. 

It  is  pretty  rare  indeed  to  find  Senators  standing 
on  this  floor  uttering  one  word  of  criticism  of  these 
long-existing  wrongs.  A  little  outbreak  here  and 
there  on  the  part  of  labor  seeking  to  get  just  a  bit 
more  for  the  family  will  inspire  the  introduction  of 
a  bill  or  an  amendment  to  jail  the  strikers  or  to 
authorize  resort  to  armed  soldiers  to  deal  with  them, 
but  down  through  the  centuries  the  wrongs  that 
wealth  and  power  have  imposed  upon  the  great 
masses  of  humanity  have  too  often  passed  unchal 
lenged  in  any  legislative  body. 

Taxes  upon  the  necessaries  of  life  are  wrong  in 
principle.  Many  of  the  articles  taxed  in  this  bill  al 
ready  pay  a  tax  in  the  form  of  a  tariff  duty.  They 
are  largely  articles  the  consumption  of  which  is 
necessary  to  maintain  the  health  and  the  well  being 
of  the  mass  of  people.  Why  stop  with  taxing  tea, 
coffee,  sugar,  and  medicines  of  the  poor  man?  Why 
not  levy  a  tax  upon  every  pound  of  flour  and  upon 
every  peck  of  potatoes  and  upon  every  ounce  of 
butter  that  he  buys  for  his  family?  The  principle 
is  the  same.  I  am  aware  that  taxes  of  this  sort  have 


224  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

been  resorted  to  in  previous  wars.  They  may  have 
been  resorted  to  in  all  wars,  so  far  as  I  know.  I  am 
aware  also  that  it  has  been  the  history  of  all  wars 
that  the  burdens  imposed  both  on  life  and  property 
have  been  borne  by  the  masses  of  the  people,  while 
the  few  have  used  them  as  a  means  of  acquiring 
great  fortunes,  through  which  they  have  dominated 
the  life  of  the  country  when  peace  was  restored. 

You  have  but  to  call  the  roll  of  American  million 
aires  to  remember  how  many  of  them  laid  the  foun 
dation  for  their  fortunes  in  the  Civil  War.  Jay 
Gould  and  Black  Friday,  Morgan  and  his  unsavory 
munition  contracts,  which  were  the  subject  of  a 
congressional  investigation ;  Vanderbilt,  the  ship- 
purchasing  agent  of  the  Government,  who  pur 
chased  and  sold  to  the  government  condemned  and 
worthless  vessels,  as  the  result  of  which  he  made 
unnumbered  millions  of  dollars — all  will  be  readily 
recalled  upon  mere  mention.  Rockefeller,  Carnegie, 
and  many  others  laid  the  foundations  of  their  great 
\vealth  in  the  necessities  of  the  Government  in  the 
civil  war.  That  was  not  the  patriotism  we  are  com 
mending  so  highly  today,  which  leads  a  man  to 
shoulder  a  gun  and  die  in  the  front  rank  of  battle. 
But  they  had  cunning  and  sagacity,  and  the  deter 
mination  to  grow  rich  out  of  the  opportunities  for 
profit  which  the  war  offered,  while  the  great  mass 
of  the  people  were  giving  their  property  and  their 
lives  to  defend  and  perpetuate  our  Government. 

Remember  that  the  rule  to  be  applied  alike  to  tax 
ation  for  war  purposes  and  to  the  conscription  of 
men  for  the  same  purpose  is  simply  what  is  best  for 
the  state.  If  a  widow  ha.s  two  sons  upon  whom  she 


War  Taxes  and  Profiteering  225 

is  dependent  for  support  and  the  draft  takes  one  and 
leaves  the  other,  it  is  not,  as  we  have  been  repeat 
edly  advised  by  the  rules  promulgated  by  the  war  de 
partment,  because  of  any  tenderness  for  the  widow 
and  mother  that  one  son  is  left.  It  is  merely  be 
cause  to  draft  both  into  the  army  would  mean  that 
the  widow  would  be  left  without  support  and  be 
come  a  public  charge  to  the  injury  and  detriment  of 
the  state.  The  same  rule  applied  to  incomes  would 
;take  all  the  surplus  income.  Suppose  all  incomes 
were  taken  and  it  became  necessary  for  our  citizens 
of  great  wealth  to  use  a  little  of  their  capital  to  live 
on,  it  would  do  no  harm  to  the  state.  It  might  even 
result  in  forcing  the  members  of  this  class  to  a 
little  wholesome  industry  \vhereby  the  state  would 
greatly  benefit. 

Speech,    "War   Profits   Tax"   Senate, 

September  I   and   TO,   1917. 

Eighty  Per  Cent  Is  Fair 

Tax  the  War  Profits. 

The  policy  of  raising  money  to  pay  the  expense  of 
this  war  by  borrowing  and  issuing  bonds  is  vicious  in 
principle  and  as  rankly  unjust  to  the  present  generation 
as  it  is  to  the  next. 

It  is  impossible  to  issue  bonds  without  inflating  the 
currency,  depreciating  the  value  of  the  dollar,  and 
increasing  prices.  The  public  suffers,  the  government, 
which  is  a  large  buyer  of  war  material  at  these  inflated 
prices,  also  suffers  as  a  purchaser.  It  then  borrows 
more  money,  issues  more  bonds,  and  still  further 
inflates  the  currency  and  raises  prices  each  time  it 
repeats  the  vicious  practice. 


226  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Suppose  that  80  per  cent  of  the  war  profits  and 
excess  profits  had  been  taken  in  taxation,  the  govern 
ment  would  have  had  $3,280,000,000  more  in  revenue, 
and  all  of  these  great  war-profiting  corporations  would 
have  been  left  net  profits — that  is  profits  after  all 
expenses  had  been  paid,  equal  to  10  per  cent  of  their 
capital  and  20  per  cent  war  profits  added  to  that. 
La  Follette's  Magazine,  September,  1917. 

Taxation  of  War  Profits  and  Surplus  Incomes 

And  so  it  has  become  the  policy  in  this  country,  and 
I  regret  to  say  that  that  policy  has  to  some  extent  been 
practiced  in  this  body,  of  condemning  as  disloyal  and 
unpatriotic  any  man  who  has  dared  stand  for  princi 
ples  of  sound  finance  and  just  taxation  as  a  means 
of  meeting  the  expenses  of  this  war,  and  who  has  ven 
tured  to  oppose  the  shifty  and  evasive  methods  being 
applied  to  this  greatest  of  all  problems  of  war  finance. 

If  they  (the  railroads)  are  never  allowed  to  make 
another  dollar  out  of  this  war,  they  have  already 
made  fortunes  out  of  it  that  should  satisfy  the  wildest 
dreams  of  avarice  and  greed. 

The  railroads  of  the  country  made  last  year  $200,- 
000,000  net  above  all  expenses,  more  than  during  any 
preceding  year  in  the  history  of  the  country. 

Two-thirds  of  all  the  traffic  in  the  United  States 
was  handled  last  year  by  railroads  earning  more  than 
7l/2  Per  cent  on  all  their  capital  stock  outstanding  in 
the  hands  of  the  public,  and  by  stock  I  mean  not  only 
the  stock  legitimately  issued  but  the  watered  stock  as 
well. 


War  Taxes  and  Profiteering  227 

Two-thirds  of  the  traffic  in  the  eastern  district  was 
handled  by  railroads  making  an  average  of  over  15 
per  cent  on  their  outstanding  capital  stock. 

Two-thirds  of  the  traffic  in  the  western  district  was 
handled  by  railroads  that  made  an  average  of  over  12 
per  cent  on  all  their  capital  stock. 

Two-thirds  of  the  traffic  in  the  southern  district  is 
handled  by  railroads  that  last  year  made  an  average 
of  more  than  13  per  cent  on  all  their  capital  stock. 

Twenty-seven  railroad  systems  handled  two-thirds 
of  the  traffic  in  the  United  States. 

They  have  an  accumulated  unappropriated  surplus 
of  over  one  thousand  million  dollars. 

We  conscripted  men  almost  as  soon  as  war  was 
declared,  and  in  doing  so  overturned .  our  traditions 
as  a  nation  and,  as  I  believe,  violated  our  constitution. 
We  immediately  invested  the  Executive  upon  his 
demand  with  the  most  searching  and  arbitrary  power 
over  the  lives  and  property  and  welfare  of  the  people 
of  this  country  that  has  ever  been  exercised  by  poten 
tate  or  ruler  in  any  country  since  civilized  govern 
ment  was  established  among  men.  We  have  done  all 
this,  sir,  whether  wisely  or  unwisely  is  not  now  the 
question ;  but  we  have  done  it  because  of  the  plea  that 
the  necessities  of  war  demanded  it. 

It  is  only  when  we  come  to  the  proposition  that 
some  of  the  surplus  wealth  of  the  country  shall  be 
wrested  from  those  who  control  it,  though  they  do  not 
need  it,  nor  sometimes  wisely  use  it,  that  a  halt  is 
called. 

Speech,  "War  Profits  Tax,"  U.  S. 
Senate,  September  i  and  10,  1917. 


228  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Profiteers  Should  Pay  Cost  of  War 

The  ardor  and  war  spirit  of  wealth  and  the  wealthy 
will  be  destroyed  if  you  reduce  their  profits  down  to 
a  beggarly  33^  per  cent  on  their  investments.  This  is 
too  "onerous  a  burden,"  to  quote  the  language  of  the 
.Senator  from  North  Dakota  (Mr.  McCumber),  for 
their  patriotism  to  bear. 

Mr.  President,  upon  this  proposition  I  fundament 
ally  disagree  with  senators  who  have  taken  that  atti 
tude.  I  tell  them  one  and  all  that  by  their  refusal  to 
justly  tax  war  profits  and  excessive  incomes  they  are 
destroying  the  war  spirit  among  the  hundred  million 
people  of  this  country  which  is  absolutely  necessary 
if  we  are  to  acquit  ourselves  even  creditably  in  this 
great  war.  Mr.  President,  the  two  or  three  hundred 
thousand  people  in  this  country — for  there  are  no 
more — who  are  the  possessors  of  large  incomes,  and 
the  few  thousand  corporations  who  are  making  these 
war  profits,  are  not  the  people  of  this  country.  Why, 
Mr.  President,  there  is  a  strange  misunderstanding 
on  the  part  of  the  Senator  as  to  who  are  the  people 
of  this  country.  The  Senator  says  that  high  taxes 
on  large  incomes  and  high  taxes  on  war  profits  will 
"create  dissatisfaction."  Where  ? 

He  says  "among  the  people ;"  that  will  "lessen  their 
ardor" — and  I  quote  his  words — "among  the  people.;" 
that  it  will  "lessen  their  ardor  for  the  conflict  which 
is  before  them,  and  thereby  cripple  and  hinder  our  war 
efforts."  Who  does  the  senator  think  are  the  people 
of  this  country  ?  Is  it  the  2  per  cent,  owners  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  wealth,  or  is  it  the  98  per  cent  of  the  pop 
ulation  who  have  to  divide  among  themselves  the  mea- 


War  Taxes  and  Profiteering  229 

ger  balance  of  this  country's  wealth,  which,  apportioned 
among  them  per  capita,  is  a  little  over  $800  apiece? 
Will  the  latter  be  dissatisfied  because  the  swollen 
and  unnecessary  incomes  of  the  former  are  taxed  to 
pay  a  little  of  the  frightful  cost  of  this  war?  Does 
the  word  which  you  are  getting  from  the  country 
indicate  that  the  people — the  98  per  cent,  the  people 
upon  whom  this  Nation  must  depend  in  this  and 
every  other  crisis — are  dissatisfied  with  the  suggestion 
that  excessive  incomes  and  war  profits  should  pay  a 
high  rate  of  taxation?  No,  Mr.  President;  the  sena 
tor  may  think  that  the  people  of  this  country  are  com 
posed  of  the  fortunate  possessors  of  large  incomes  and 
the  happy  recipients  of  the  bloody  profits  of  this  war ; 
he  may  think  that  the  success  of  this  war  depends  upon 
the  ardor  with  which  these  profiteering  patriots  sup 
port  it. 

I  know  not  what  associations  or  habits  of  thought 
incline  him  to  that  opinion,  but  I  declare,  Mr.  Presi 
dent,  in  that  view  he  is  mistaken ;  and  all  persons  who 
entertain  like  views  are  mistaken.  And,  Mr.  Presi 
dent,  if  that  view  is  written  by  this  bill  into  the  law 
of  this  country,  by  that  very  act  you  are  liable  to  create, 
if  it  does  not  already  exist  in  the  public  mind,  the 
belief  that  the  war  is  a  profiteering  enterprise.  The 
sound  of  military  preparations  may  continue  to  fill 
the  land,  drums  may  beat,  soldiers  march,  patriotic 
organizations  financed  by  war  profits  may  acclaim 
the  glory  of  a  war  for  democracy,  but  in  every  humble 
home  in  this  country  where  manhood  counts  more  than 
dollars,  where  patriotism  is  not  associated  with  profits, 
will  have  entered  the  conviction,  and  rightfully  so, 
that  a  monstrous  injustice  has  been  done  to  the  mass  of 


230  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

the  people.  With  the  war  spirit  tainted  with  mer 
cenary  interests,  in  those  homes  you  will  render  the 
prosecution  of  this  war  more  and  more  difficult. 

No  man  can  justify  the  refusal  of  the  senate  to 
impose  the  highest  rate  of  taxation  on  war  profits  and 
incomes  which  has  been  demanded  here.  The  sena 
tors  who  have  attempted  to  justify  that  course  in  this 
body  have  failed.  The  country  knows  that  they  have 
failed.  They  have  failed  for  no  lack  of  ability  in 
themselves,  but  for  the  lack  of  justice  in  their  cause. 
A  popular  war  could  hardly  survive  the  spirit  of  resent 
ment  the  injustice  of  this  bill  will  arouse;  and  if  it 
be  a  fact  that  this  is  already  an  unpopular  war,  then 
such  a  course  will  but  intensify  that  feeling. 

Speech,  "War  Profits  Tax"  U.  S.  Senate, 

September  I  and  10,   1917. 


XVIII 
FREEDOM  OF  SPEECH  AND  PRESS 

La  Follette  Peace  Resolution 

UGUST  n,  I  introduced  in  the  United 
States  senate  a  concurrent  resolution 
declaring  that  the  constitution  vests 
in  congress  the  right  to  determine  and 
announce  the  objects  and  purposes  for 
which  this  government  shall  continue  to  partici 
pate  in  the  European  war;  and  that  the  United 
States  will  not  contribute  to  the  efforts  of  any 
European  government  to  annex  new  territory  or 
to  enforce  indemnities  and  favoring  the  creation 
of  a  common  fund  to  be  provided  by  all  belligerents 
out  of  which  to  assist  in  the  restoration  of  portions 
of  countries  most  seriously  devastated  by  war.  It 
also  provided  that  congress  shall  declare  for  a  pub 
lic  restatement  of  the  allies'  peace  terms  disavowing 
any  advantages  in  the  way  of  indemnities,  territorial 
acquisitions  or  commercial  privileges  by  which  one 
nation  shall  strengthen  its  power  abroad  at  the 
expense  of  another  nation. 

That  resolution  has  been  misrepresented  both  as 
to  its  terms  and  purpose.  It  is  here  printed  in  full : 
Whereas  the  provisional  government  of  Russia 
did,  on  the  igth  day  of  May,  1917,  declare  in  favor 
of  "peace  without  annexation  or  indemnities  on  the 
basis  of  the  rights  of  nations  to  decide  their  own 
destiny;"  and 


232  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Whereas  the  imperial  reichstag,  representing  the 
great  majority  of  the  German  people  did  on  the 
iQth  day  of  July,  1917,  by  a  vote  of  214  to  116,  pass 
resolutions  in  favor  of  peace,  "without  forced  acqui 
sition  of  territory  and  without  political,  economic, 
and  financial  violations"  and  declaring  for  "a  mutual 
understanding  and  lasting  reconciliation  among  the 
nations  and  the  creation  of  international  judicial  or 
ganizations  ;"  and 

Whereas  the  German  chancellor,  speaking  for  the 
Imperial  German  government  on  the  I7th  day  of 
May,  1917,  made  the  following  official  declaration 
in  the  reichstag: 

"We  did  not  go  to  war,  and  we  are  not  fighting 
now  against  almost  the  whole  world,  in  order  to 
make  conquests,  but  only  to  secure  our  existence,  and 
firmly  to  establish  the  future  of  the  nation ;"  and 

Whereas  on  behalf  of  Great  Britain  on  the  23rd 
day  of  May,  1917,  Lord  Robert  Cecil,  as  one  of  the 
ministers  of  the  present  government,  replying  in 
the  house  of  commons,  declared  that — 

"Our  aims  and  aspirations  are  dictated  solely  by 
our  determination  to  secure  a  peace  founded  on 
national  liberty  and  international  amity,  and  that 
all  imperialistic  aims  based  on  force  and  conquest 
are  completely  absent  from  our  program ;"  and 

Whereas  duly  organized  bodies  of  loyal  citizens 
of  Great  Britain  representing  millions  of  other  citi 
zens,  many  of  whom  are  eminent  in  official  life 
and  exert  a  wide  influence  upon  public  opinion,  have 
declared  that — 

"A  stage  in  the  war  has  been  reached  when  the 
democracies  of  all  the  belligerent  countries  are  be- 


Freedom  of  Speech  and  Press  233 

ginning  to  work  toward  a  peace  based  on  the  same 
general  principles ;"  and 

Whereas  the  above  principles  are  those  by  which 
the  respective  warring  governments  of  Europe  pro 
fess  common  willingness  to  be  bound  and  are  prin 
ciples  to  which  the  United  States  subscribes ;  and 

Whereas  one  and  all  of  these  declarations  bespeak 
a  willingness  to  adopt  the  doctrine  of  "a  peace  with 
out  victory,"  proclaimed  by  President  Wilson  on 
the  22d  day  of  January,  1917,  as  the  only  possible 
peace  that  can  be  enduring;  and 

Whereas  there  have  recently  emanated  from  offi 
cial  and  unofficial  sources,  both  in  this  country  and 
abroad,  statements  indicating  that  we  are  to  con 
tinue  in  the  war  until  a  peace  is  obtained  which 
gives  to  the  entente  allies,  or  some  of  them,  puni 
tive  damages  and  territorial  advantages  as  a  result 
of  the  war ;  and 

Facts  of  Treaty  Withheld 

Whereas  the  people  of  this  country  do  not  know 
the  terms  of  the  secret  treaties  or  agreements  exist 
ing  among  the  entente  allies,  denning  the  advan 
tages,  if  any,  either  in  the  way  of  indemnities  or 
territorial  acquisitions  or  commercial  privileges, 
which  each  is  expected  to  receive  as  a  result  of  the 
war;  and 

Whereas  there  is  naturally  a  widely  expressed 
demand  coming  from  the  people  of  our  own  coun 
try  for  some  declaration  of  the  purpose  and  object 
for  which  the  United  States  is  expending,  in  the 
first  year  of  the  war,  from  thirteen  to  seventeen 
billions  of  money,  and  raising  by  draft  and  other- 


234  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

wise  an  army  of  2,000,000  men  ostensibly  for  service 
in  foreign  countries ;  and 

Whereas  the  people  have  a  right  to  know  with 
certainty  for  what  end  their  blood  is  shed  and  their 
treasure  expended;  and 

Whereas  in  this  free  government  congress,  in 
whom  the  war-making  power  resides  under  the  con 
stitution,  is  charged  primarily  with  the  responsi 
bility  of  deciding  upon  the  objects  of  the  war  at 
its  commencement  or  at  any  time  during  its  exist 
ence  :  Now,  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  by  the  senate  (the  house  of  representa 
tives  concurring), 

That  the  constitution  vests  in  the  congress  as 
the  accredited  and  lawful  representatives  of  the 
people  full  authority  to  determine  and  to  declare 
definitely  the  objects  and  purposes  for  which  this 
government  shall  continue  to  participate  in  the 
European  war. 

Resolved,  further,  That  the  congress  hereby  de= 
clares  that  this  government  will  not  contribute  to 
the  efforts  of  any  belligerent  for  the  purpose  of 
prolonging  the  war  to  annex  new  territory,  either 
in  Europe  or  outside  of  Europe,  nor  to  enforce  the 
payment  of  indemnities  to  recover  the  expenses  of 
the  war;  but  the  congress  does  hereby  declare  in 
favor  of  the  creation  of  a  common  fund  to  be  pro 
vided  by  all  the  belligerent  nations  to  assist  in  the 
restoration  of  the  portions  of  territory  in  any  of 
the  countries  most  seriously  devastated  by  the  war, 
and  for  the  establishment  of  an  international  com 
mission  to  decide  the  allotment  of  the  common  fund. 


Freedom  of  Speech  and  Press  235 

Resolved,  further,  That  congress  declares  that 
there  should  be  a  public  restatement  of  the  allies' 
peace  terms,  based  on  a  disavowal  of  any  advan 
tages;  either  in  the  way  of  indemnities,  territorial 
acquisitions,  commercial  privileges,  or  economic 
prerogatives,  by  means  of  which  one  nation  shall 
strengthen  its  po\ver  abroad  at  the  expense  of  an 
other  nation,  as  wholly  incompatible  with  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  durable  peace  in  the  world. 

La  Follettc's  Magazine,  August,   1917. 

Right  of  Congress  to  Declare  Objects  of  War 

It  is  no  answer  to  say  that  when  the  war  is  over 
the  citizen  may  once  more  resume  his  rights  and 
feel  some  security  in  his  liberty  and  his  person.  As 
I  have  already  tried  to  point  out,  now  is  precisely 
the  time  when  the  country  needs  the  counsel  of  all 
its  citizens.  In  time  of  war  even  more  than  in  time 
of  peace,  whether  citizens  happen  to  agree  with  the 
ruling  administration  or  not,  these  precious  funda 
mental  personal  rights — free  speech,  free  press,  and 
right  of  assemblage  so  explicitly  and  emphatically 
guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  should  be  main 
tained  inviolable.  There  is  no  rebellion  in  the  land, 
no  martial  lawr,  no  courts  are  closed,  no  legal  proc 
esses  suspended,  and  there  is  no  threat  even  of 
invasion. 

But  more  than  this,  if  every  preparation  for  war 
can  be  made  the  excuse  for  destroying  free  speech 
and  a  free  press  and  the  right  of  the  people  to 
assemble  together  for  peaceful  discussion,  then  we 
may  well  despair  of  ever  again  finding  ourselves  for 
a  long  period  in  a  state  of  peace.  With  the  posses 
sions  we  already  have  in  remote  parts  of  the  world, 


236  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

with  the  obligations  we  seem  almost  certain  to 
assume  as  a  result  of  the  present  war,  a  war  can 
be  made  any  time  overnight  and  the  destruction  of 
personal  rights  now  occurring  will  be  pointed  to 
then  as  precedents  for  a  still  further  invasion  of  the 
rights  of  the  citizen.  This  is  the  road  which  all 
free  governments  have  heretofore  traveled  to  their 
destruction,  and  how  far  we  have  progressed  along 
it  is  shown  when  we  compare  the  standard  of  lib 
erty  of  Lincoln,  Clay  and  Webster  with  the  standard 
of  the  present  day. 

This  leads  me,  Mr.  President,  to  the  next  thought, 
to  which  I  desire  to  invite  the  attention  of  the  Sen 
ate,  and  that  is  the  power  of  Congress  to  declare 
the  purpose  and  objects  of  the  war,  and  the  failure 
of  Congress  to  exercise  that  power  in  the  present 
crisis. 

For  the  mere  assertion  of  that  right,  in  the  form 
of  a  resolution  to  be  considered  and  discussed,  which 
I  introduced  August  n,  1917,  I  have  been  denounced 
throughout  this  broad  land  as  a  traitor  to  my 
country. 

Speech,  "Right  of  Congress  to  Declare  the 
Objects  of  the  War,"  U.  S.  Senate,  Oct.  6,  1917. 

Reply  to  Critics  of  Attitude  on  War 

I  am  aware,  Mr.  President,  that  in  pursuance  of 
this  general  campaign  of  villification  and  attempted 
intimidation,  requests  from  various  individuals  and 
certain  organizations  have  been  submitted  to  the 
senate  for  my  expulsion  from  this  body,  and  that 
such  requests  have  been  referred  to  and  considered 
by  one  of  the  committees  of  the  senate. 


Freedom  of  Speech  and  Press  237 

If  I  alone  had  been  made  the  victim  of  these 
attacks,  I  should  not  take  one  moment  of  the  sen 
ate's  time  for  their  consideration,  and  I  believe 
that  other  senators  who  have  been  unjustly  and 
unfairly  assailed,  as  I  have  been,  hold  the  same 
attitude  upon  this  that  I  do.  Neither  the  clamor 
of  the  mob  nor  the  voice  of  power  will  ever  turn 
me  by  the  breadth  of  a  hair  from  the  course  I  mark 
out  for  myself,  guided  by  such  knowledge  as  I  can 
obtain  and  controlled  and  directed  by  a  solemn 
conviction  of  right  and  duty. 

Speech,  "Right  of  Congress  to  Declare  the 
Objects  of  War,"  U.  S.  Senate,  Oct.  6,  1917. 

People  Retain  Right  to  Control  Government 

But,  sir,  it  is  not  alone  members  of  congress  that 
the  war  party  in  this  country  has  sought  to  intimi 
date.  The  mandate  seems  to  have  gone  forth  to 
the  sovereign  people  of  this  country  that  they  must 
be  silent  while  those  things  are  being  done  by  their 
government  which  most  vitally  concern  their  well- 
being,  their  happiness,  and  their  lives.  To-day  and 
for  weeks  past  honest  and  law-abiding  citizens  of 
this  country  are  being  terrorized  and  outraged  in 
their  rights  by  those  sworn  to  uphold  the  laws  and 
protect  the  rights  of  the  people.  I  have  in  my  pos 
session  numerous  affidavits  establishing  the  fact 
that  people  are  being  unlawfully  arrested,  thrown 
into  jail,  held  incommunicado  for  days,  only  to  be 
eventually  discharged  without  ever  having  been 
taken  into  court,  because  they  committed  no  crime. 
Private  residences  are  being  invaded,  loyal  citizens 
of  undoubted  integrity  and  probity  arrested,  cross- 


238  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

examined,  and  the  most  sacred  constitutional  rights 
guaranteed  to  every  American  citizen  are  being  vio 
lated. 

It  appears  to  be  the  purpose  of  those  conducting 
this  campaign  to  throw  the  country  into  a  state  of 
terror,  to  coerce  public  opinion,  to  stifle  criticism, 
and  suppress  discussion  of  the  great  issues  involved 
in  this  war. 

I  think  all  men  recognize  that  in  time  of  war 
the  citizen  must  surrender  some  rights  for  the  com 
mon  good  which  he  is  entitled  to  enjoy  in  time  of 
peace.  But,  sir,  the  right  to  control  their  own  gov 
ernment  according  to  constitutional  forms  is  not  one 
of  the  rights  that  the  citizens  of  this  country  are 
called  upon  to  surrender  in  time  of  war. 

Rather  in  time  of  war  the  citizen  must  be  more 
alert  to  the  preservation  of  his  right  to  control 
his  government.  He  must  be  most  watchful  of  the 
encroachment  of  the  military  upon  the  civil  power. 
He  must  beware  of  those  precedents  in  support  of 
arbitrary  action  by  administrative  officials,  which 
excused  on  the  plea  of  necessity  in  war  time,  become 
the  fixed  rule  when  the  necessity  has  passed  and 
normal  conditions  have  been  restored. 

More  than  all,  the  citizen  and  his  representative 
in  congress  in  time  of  war  must  maintain  his  right 
of  free  speech.  More  than  in  times  of  peace  it  is 
necessary  that  the  channels  for  free  public  discus 
sion  of  government  policies  shall  be  open  and  un- 
clogged.  I  believe,  Mr.  President,  that  I  am  now 
touching  upon  the  most  important  question  in  this 
country  to-day — and  that  is  the  right  of  the  citizens 
of  this  country  and  their  representatives  in  congress 


Freedom  of  Speech  and  Press  239 

to  discuss  in  an  orderly  way  frankly  and  publicly 
and  without  fear,  from  the  platform  and  through 
the  press,  every  important  phase  of  this  war;  its 
causes,  the  manner  in  which  it  should  be  conducted, 
and  the  terms  upon  which  peace  should  be  made. 
Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  October  6,  1917. 

Free  Discussion  Essential 

I  am  contending  for  this  right  because  the  exer 
cise  of  it  is  necessary  to  the  welfare,  to  the  exist 
ence,  of  this  government,  to  the  successful  conduct 
of  this  war,  and  to  a  peace  which  shall  be  enduring 
and  for  the  best  interest  of  this  country. 

Suppose  success  attends  the  attempt  to  stifle  all 
discussion  of  the  issues  of  this  war,  all  discussion 
of  the  terms  upon  which  it  should  be  concluded, 
all  discussion  of  the  objects  and  purposes  to  be 
accomplished  by  it,  and  concede  the  demand  of  the 
wrar-mad  press  and  war  extremists  that  they  monop 
olize  the  right  of  public  utterance  upon  these  ques 
tions  unchallenged,  what  think  you  would  be  the 
consequences  to  this  country  not  only  during  the 
war  but  after  the  war? 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  October  6,  1917. 

How  War  Might  Have  Been  Avoided 

Mr.  President,  we  are  in  a  war  the  awful  conse 
quences  of  which  no  man  can  foresee,  which,  in  my 
judgment,  could  have  been  avoided  if  the  congress 
had  exercised  its  constitutional  power  to  influence 
and  direct  the  foreign  policy  of  this  country. 

On  the  8th  day  of  February,  1915,  I  introduced 
in  the  senate  a  resolution  authorizing  the  president 


240  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

to  invite  the  representatives  of  the  neutral  nations 
of  the  world  to  assemble  and  consider,  among  other 
things,  whether  it  would  not  be  possible  to  lay  out 
lanes  of  travel  upon  the  high  seas  and  through 
proper  negotiation  with  the  belligerent  powers  have 
those  lanes  recognized  as  neutral  territory,  through 
which  the  commerce  of  neutral  nations  might  pass. 
This,  together  with  other  provisions,  constituted 
a  resolution,  as  I  shall  always  regard  it,  of  most 
vital  and  supreme  importance  in  the  world  crisis, 
and  one  that  should  have  been  considered  and  acted 
upon  by  congress. 

I  believe,  sir,  that  had  some  such  action  been 
taken  the  history  of  the  world  would  not  be  written 
at  this  hour  in  the  blood  of  more  than  one-half  of 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  with  the  remaining  nations 
in  danger  of  becoming  involved. 

I  believe  that  had  congress  exercised  the  power 
in  this  respect,  which  I  contend  it  possesses,  we 
could  and  probably  would  have  avoided  the  present 
war. 

Mr.  President,  I  believe  that  if  we  are  to  extricate 
ourselves  from  this  war  and  restore  this  country  to 
an  honorable  and  lasting  peace,  the  congress  must 
exercise  in  full  the  war  powers  intrusted  to  it  by 
the  constitution. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  October  6,  1917. 

The  Citizen's  Right  to  Oppose  War  Policies 

Lincoln,  Webster,  Clay,  Sumner — what  a  galaxy 
of  names  in  American  history !  They  all  believed 
and  asserted  and  advocated  in  the  midst  of  war  that 
it  was  the  right — the  constitutional  right — and  the 


Freedom  of  Speech  and  Press  241 

patriotic  duty  of  American  citizens,  after  the  decla 
ration  of  war  and  while  the  war  was  in  progress, 
to  discuss  the  issues  of  the  war  and  to  criticize  the 
policies  employed  in  its  prosecution  and  to  work 
for  the  election  of  representatives  opposed  to  pro 
longing  war. 

The  right  of  Lincoln,  Webster,  Clay,  Sumner  to 
oppose  the  Mexican  War,  criticize  its  conduct,  advo 
cate  its  conclusion  on  a  just  basis,  is  exactly  the 
same  right  and  privilege  as  that  possessed  by  every 
representative  in  congress  and  by  each  and  every 
American  citizen  in  our  land  to-day  in  respect  to 
the  war  in  which  we  are  now  engaged.  Their  argu 
ments  as  to  the  power  of  congress  to  shape  the 
war  policy  and  their  opposition  to  what  they  be 
lieved  to  be  the  usurpation  of  power  on  the  part  of 
the  executive  are  potent  so  long  as  the  constitution 
remains  the  law  of  the  land. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  October  6,  1917. 

Cruelties  of  the  War 

The  first  chill  winds  of  autumn  remind  us  that 
another  winter  is  at  hand.  The  imagination  is  par 
alyzed  at  the  thought  of  the  human  misery,  the 
indescribable  suffering,  which  the  winter  months, 
with  their  cold  and  sleet  and  ice  and  snow,  must 
bring  to  the  war-swept  lands,  not  alone  to  the  sol 
diers  at  the  front  but  to  the  non-combatants  at 
home. 

To  such  excesses  of  cruelty  has  this  war  de 
scended  that  each  nation  is  now,  as  a  part  of  its 
strategy,  planning  to  starve  the  women  and  children 
of  the  enemy  countries.  Each  warring  nation  is 


242  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

carrying  out  the  unspeakable  plan  of  starving  non- 
combatants.  Each  nurses  the  hope  that  it  may 
break  the  spirit  of  the  men  of  the  enemy  country 
at  the  front  by  starving  the  wives  and  babes  at 
home,  and  woe  be  it  that  we  have  become  partners 
in  this  awful  business  and  are  even  cutting  off  food 
shipments  from  neutral  countries  in  order  to  force 
them  to  help  starve  women  and  children  of  the 
country  against  whom  we  have  declared  war. 

There  may  be  some  necessity  overpowering 
enough  to  justify  these  things,  but  the  people  of 
America  should  demand  to  know  what  results  are 
expected  to  satisfy  the  sacrifice  of  all  that  civiliza 
tion  holds  dear  upon  the  bloody  altar  of  a  conflict 
which  employs  such  desperate  methods  of  warfare. 

The  question  is :  Are  we  to  sacrifice  millions  of 
our  young  men — the  very  promise  of  the  land— 
and  spend  billions  and  more  billions,  and  pile  up 
the  cost  of  living  until  we  starve — and  for  what? 
Shall  the  fearfully  overburdened  people  of  this 
country  continue  to  bear  the  brunt  of  a  prolonged 
war  for  any  objects  not  openly  stated  and  defined  ? 

The  answer,  sir,   rests,   in  my  judgment,   with  the 

congress,  whose  duty  it  is  to  declare  our  specific 

purposes  in  the  present  war  and  to  state  the  objects 

upon  the  attainment  of  which  we  wrill  make  peace. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate:,  October  6,  1917. 

People  Should  Discuss  the  Objects  of  War. 

.  And,  sir,  this  is  the  ground  on  which  I  stand: 
I  maintain  that  Congress  has  the  right  and  the  duty 
to  declare  the  objects  of  the  war  and  the  people 
have  the  right  and  the  obligation  to  discuss  it. 


Freedom  of  Speech  and  Press  243 

American  citizens  may  hold  all  shades  of  opinion 
as  to  the  war;  one  citizen  may  glory  in  it,  another 
may  deplore  it,  each  has  the  same  right  to  voice 
his  judgment.  An  American  citizen  may  think  and 
say  that  we  are  not  justified  in  prosecuting  this  war 
for  the  purpose  of  dictating  the  form  of  government 
which  shall  be  maintained  by  our  enemy  or  our 
ally,  and  not  be  subject  to  punishment  of  law.  He 
may  pray  aloud  that  our  boys  shall  not  be  sent  to 
fight  and  die  on  European  battlefields  for  the  an 
nexation  of  territory  or  the  maintenance  of  trade 
agreements  and  be  within  his  legal  rights.  He  may 
express  the  hope  that  an  early  peace  may  be  secured 
on  the  terms  set  forth  by  the  New  Russia  and  by 
President  Wilson  in  his  speech  of  January  22,  1917, 
and  he  cannot  lawfully  be  sent  to  jail  for  the  expres 
sion  of  his  convictions. 

It  is  the  citizen's  duty  to  obey  the  law  until  it  is 
repealed  or  declared  unconstitutional.  But  he  has 
the  inalienable  right  to  fight  what  he  deems  an 
obnoxious  law  or  a  wrong  policy  in  the  courts  and 
at  the  ballot  box. 

It  is  the  suppressed  emotion  of  the  masses  that 
breeds  revolution. 

If  the  American  people  are  to  carry  on  this  great 
war,  if  public  opinion  is  to  be  enlightened  and  intel 
ligent,  there  must  be  free  discussion. 

Congress,  as  well  as  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  entered  the  war  in  great  confusion  of  mind 
and  under  feverish  excitement.  The  president's 
leadership  was  followed  in  the  faith  that  he  had 
some  big,  unrevealed  plan  by  which  a  peace  that 


244  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

would  exalt  him  before  all  the  world  would  soon  be 
achieved. 

Gradually,  reluctantly,  congress  and  the  country 
are  beginning  to  perceive  that  we  are  in  this  terrific 
world  conflict,  not  only  to  right  our  wrongs,  not 
only  to  aid  the  allies,  not  only  to  share  its  awful 
death  toll  and  its  fearful  tax  burden,  but,  perhaps, 
to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  war. 

And  so  I  say,  if  we  are  to  forestall  the  danger  of 
being  drawn  into  years  of  war,  perhaps  finally  to 
maintain  imperialism  and  exploitation,  the  people 
must  unite  in  a  campaign  along  constitutional  lines 
for  free  discussion  of  the  policy  of  the  war  and  its 
conclusion  on  a  just  basis. 

Permit  me,  sir,  this  word  in  conclusion.  It  is  said 
by  many  persons  for  whose  opinions  I  have  profound 
respect  and  whose  motives  I  know  to  be  sincere 
that  "we  are  in  this  war  and  must  go  through  to 
the  end."  That  is  true.  But  it  is  not  true  that  we 
must  go  through  to  the  end  to  accomplish  an  undis 
closed  purpose,  or  to  reach  an  unknown  goal. 
Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  October  6,  1917. 

The  Surest  Way  to  Win  the  War 

But  it  is  said  that  Germany  will  fight  with  greater 
determination  if  her  people  believe  that  we  are  not 
in  perfect  agreement.  Mr.  President,  that  is  the 
same  worn-out  pretext  which  has  been  used  for 
three  years  to  keep  the  plain  people  of  Europe 
engaged  in  killing  each  other  in  this  war.  And,  sir, 
as  applied  to  this  country,  at  least,  it  is  a  pretext 
with  nothing  to  support  it. 


Freedom  of  Speech  and  Press  245 

The  way  to  paralyze  the  German  arm,  to  weaken 
the  German  military  force,  in  my  opinion,  is  to 
declare  our  objects  in  this  war,  and  show  by  that 
declaration  to  the  German  people  that  we  are  not 
seeking  to  dictate  a  form  of  government  to  Germany 
or  to  render  more  secure  England's  domination  of 
the  seas. 

A  declaration  of  our  purposes  in  this  war,  so  far 
from  strengthening  our  enemy,  I  believe  would  im 
measurably  weaken  her,  for  it  would  no  longer  be 
possible  to  misrepresent  our  purposes  to  the  German 
people.  Such  a  course  on  our  part,  so  far  from 
endangering  the  life  of  a  single  one  of  our  boys, 
I  believe  \vould  result  in  saving  the  lives  of  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  them  by  bringing  about  an  earlier 
and  more  lasting  peace  by  intelligent  negotiation, 
instead  of  securing  a  peace  by  the  complete  exhaus 
tion  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  belligerents. 

Such  a  course  would  also  immeasurably,  I  believe, 
strengthen  our  military  force  in  this  country,  be 
cause  when  the  objects  of  this  wrar  are  clearly  stated 
and  the  people  approve  of  those  objects  they  will 
give  to  the  war  a  popular  support  it  will  never 
otherwise  receive. 

Speech  in  U.  S,  Senate,  October  6,  1917. 

Honest  Dealing   With  the  Allies 

Then  again,  honest  dealing  with  the  entente 
allies,  as  w^ell  as  with  our  owrn  people,  requires  a 
clear  statement  of  our  objects  in  this  war.  If  we 
do  not  expect  to  support  the  entente  allies  in  the 
dreams  of  conquest  we  know  some  of  them  enter 
tain,  then  in  all  fairness  to  them  that  fact  should  be 


246  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

stated  now.  If  we  do  expect  to  support  them  in 
their  plans  for  conquest  and  aggrandizement,  then 
our  people  are  entitled  to  know  that  vitally  impor 
tant  fact  before  this  war  proceeds  further.  Common 
honesty  and  fair  dealing  with  the  people  of  this 
country  and  with  the  nations  by  whose  side  we  are 
fighting,  as  well  as  a  sound  military  policy  at  home, 
requires  the  fullest  and  freest  discussion  before  the 
people  of  every  issue  involved  in  this  great  war 
and  that  a  plain  and  specific  declaration  of  our 
purposes  in  the  war  be  speedily  made  by  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  October  6,  1917. 

(Note:  The  following  is  a  summary  of  Senator 
La  Follette's  voting  record  on  war  measures.  It 
is  taken  from  a  speech  in  the  Wisconsin  senate 
February  23,  1918,  by  Hon.  Henry  A.  Huber,  state 
senator  from  Dane  county.  This  speech  wras  pub 
lished  in  La  Follette's  Magazine  in  February,  1918.) 

From  April  7,  1917,  when  war  on  Germany  was 
declared  to  January  12,  1918,  sixty  different  war 
measures  were  passed  by  Congress.  La  Follette 
supported  and  voted  for  55  of  these. 

He  voted  for  the  various  bond  issues. 

He  voted  for  the  various  appropriation  bills  to 
equip  the  army  and  provide  for  the  best  supplies 
,and  the  highest  pay  for  our  soldiers.  He  repeatedly 
urged  that  the  boys  who  go  to  the  trenches  must 
have  the  best  of  everything  in  arms,  ammunition, 
and  equipment. 

He  helped  to  perfect  the  bill  for  soldiers'  insur 
ance  and  voted  for  it. 


Freedom  of  Speech  and  Press  247 

He  voted  for  every  measure  to  provide  enormous 
appropriations  for  building  ships. 

After  war  was  declared  he  recognized  in  every 
act  and  word  the  existence  of  a  state  of  war  as  a 
fact,  and  stood  for  those  measures  which  were  cal 
culated  to  bring  that  war  to  a  speedy,  successful 
and  honorable  conclusion. 

He  opposed  the  armed  ship  bill  BEFORE  WE 
WENT  INTO  THE  WAR.  He  did  not  speak  upon 
.this  measure  although  he  was  accused  of  filibuster 
ing  it  to  death. 

He  opposed  the  declaration  of  war. 

He  opposed  the  draft  provisions  of  the  bill  to  pro 
vide  an  army,  but  voted  to  raise  that  army  by  the 
volunteer  system. 

He  opposed  the  draft  provision  of  the  Aviation 
bill  because  of  his  general  objections  to  the  draft  as 
undemocratic  and  un-American.  But  he  made  it 
clear  that  he  endorsed  the  six  hundred  million  dol 
lars  appropriation  for  aviation. 

He  opposed  the  espionage  bill  because  it  con 
tained  a  provision  giving  the  postmaster-general 
power  with  the  stroke  of  the  pen  to  suppress  any 
newspaper  and  destroy  the  property  of  any  pub 
lisher. 

He  voted  for  the  food  control  bill  when  it  passed 
the  senate  but  later  voted  against  the  conference 
report  on  the  bill  because  the  conference  radically 
changed  the  bill  to  the  great  injury  of  the  farmer 
and  because  the  inevitable  effect  of  the  change 
would  be  to  curtail  agricultural  production. 

He  voted  against  the  war  tax  bill  because  it  did 
jiot  justly  tax  wealth  and  especially  wrar  profits  and 


248  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

would  therefore  force  the  raising  of  war  revenues 
by  excessive  bond  issues,  resulting  in  all  the  evils 
of  inflation,  among  others  increasing  the  cost  of 
the  necessaries  of  life. 

General  Amnesty  Is  Demanded 

Do  the  American  people  know  that  in  this  Chris 
tianized  country,  under  a  government  dedicated  to 
political  and  religious  liberty,  there  are  hundreds 
of  men  imprisoned  because  of  their  opinions? 

Do  they  know  that  many  of  these  brave  souls 
have  been  starved  and  beaten  and  scourged  and 
tortured  until  some  of  them  have  been  driven  insane 
and  others  have  died  for  their  religious  and  moral 
convictions? 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  liberals,  to  whom 
both  Mr.  Wilson  and  Mr.  Baker  owe  their  political 
power,  expected  this  problem  to  be  met  with  the 
tact,  firmness  and  honesty  which  it  required.  On 
the  other  hand,  certain  jingo  elements  who  looked 
upon  our  armed  forces  as  an  instrument  for  pro 
tection  in  their  future  machinations  for  extending 
investments  and  gaining  control  of  world  markets, 
at  whatever  cost  to  our  own  or  the  world's  popula 
tion,  saw  in  this  group  of  dissenters  a  menace  to 
their  program. 

It  was  not  a  question  of  whether  the  conscientious 
objectors  were  right  or  wrong.  They  were  there, 
and  they  presented  a  problem  which  called  for  a 
very  definite  disposition.  Should  they  be  shot  with 
out  trial,  as  was  done  in  Germany?  Should  they 
be  imprisoned  at  hard  labor  for  short  terms,  which 
could  be  renewed  from  time  to  time,  as  England 


Freedom  of  Speech  and  Press  249 

had  done?  Or  was  there  a  third  and  more  satis 
factory  solution?  Our  war  department  preferred 
not  to  make  the  decision.  It  issued  a  series  of 
vague  "orders"  to  the  camps — orders  which  on  the 
surface  appeared  to  be  a  highly  satisfactory  solu 
tion,  but  which  were,  in  fact,  open  to  any  interpre 
tation  which  officials  in  the  various  camps  wished 
to  place  upon  them.  These  officials,  in  many  in 
stances,  newly  endo\ved  with  a  degree  of  power 
which  their  experience  in  no  way  warranted,  pro 
ceeded  to  execute  the  orders,  and  court  martial 
trials  were  held  for  those  who  violated  them. 

The  sentences  imposed  ranged  from  I,  5,  10,  20, 
45  years  and  life  terms,  to  the  death  penalty.  One 
man,  for  instance,  was  given  thirty  years  because  he 
refused  a  second  vaccination ;  one  a  life  term  because 
his  religion  forbade  him  to  w^ear  a  military  uni 
form  ;  one  the  death  penalty  for  refusing  to  peel 
potatoes.  All  of  these  extreme  sentences  were  com 
muted  to  shorter  terms  before  their  absurdity  be 
came  too  apparent  to  the  public. 

The  war  is  over.  Demobilization  is  almost  com 
plete.  England  and  Canada  have  released  all  of 
their  conscientious  objectors.  But  our  war  depart 
ment  is  still  floundering  between  the  possible  oppo 
sition  of  two  hostile  political  forces.  As  a  conces 
sion  to  the  liberal  it  occasionally  releases  a  group 
of  religious  objectors,  or  surreptitiously  drops  an 
individual  objector  here  and  there.  For  the  pacifi 
cation  of  the  jingoes  it  continues  to  hold  hundreds 
of  others,  whom  it  labels  "riotous  and  unruly"  but 
whose  real  offense  is  that  they  have  given  the  public 
facts  about  the  unspeakable  conditions  of  our  mili- 


250  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

tary  prisons.  It  would,  no  doubt,  be  embarrassing 
to  the  war  department  to  make  public  its  records 
and  let  the  people  know  that  five  objectors  have 
died  from  exposure  and  cruelty,  that  not  a  few 
have  gone  insane,  that  the  health  of  scores  has  been 
permanently  impaired — that,  in  fact,  everything  has 
been  done  to  break  them  both  in  body  and  spirit. 

The  charge  now  lodged  against  the  administration 
is  not  that  it  sent  these  men  to  prison, — that  is 
passed  over, — but  that  it  has  never  met  the  issue 
with  a  clear  and  definite  policy ;  that  it  constantly 
concealed  facts  which  the  public  had  a  right  to 
know ;  that  it  never  let  its  right  hand  know  what 
its  left  hand  did. 

What  will  the  administration  do  now?  Has  it 
the  courage  to  declare  an  amnesty  as  England  and 
Canada  have  done?  Or  will  it  continue  to  play  its 
double  game  to  the  end? 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  September,  1919. 


XIX 

THE  PEACE  TREATY  AND  THE 
LEAGUE  OF  NATIONS 


The  War  Makers  of  Versailles 

PRESIDENT,  the  little  group  of 
men  who  sat  in  secret  conclave  for 
months  at  Versailles  were  not  peace 
makers.  They  were  wrar  makers.  They 
cut  and  slashed  the  map  of  the  old 
world  in  violation  of  the  terms  of  the  armistice. 
They  patched  up  a  new  map  of  the  old  world  in 
consummation  of  the  terms  of  the  secret  treaties 
the  existence  of  which  they  had  denied  because 
they  feared  to  expose  the  sordid  aims  and  purposes 
for  which  men  were  sent  to  death  by  the  tens  of 
thousands  daily.  They  betrayed  China.  They 
locked  the  chains  on  the  subject  peoples  of  Ireland, 
Egypt,  and  India.  They  partitioned  territory  and 
traded  off  peoples  in  mockery  of  that  sanctified  for 
mula  of  14  points,  and  made  it  our  Nation's  shame. 
Then,  fearing  the  wrath  of  outraged  peoples,  know 
ing  that  their  new  map  would  be  torn  to  rags  and 
tatters  by  the  conflicting,  warring  elements  which 
they  had  bound  together  in  wanton  disregard  of 
racial  animosities,  they  make  a  league  of  nations 
to  stand  guard  over  the  s\vag ! 

The   old    world   armies    were   exhausted.      Their 
treasuries  were  empty.     It  was  imperative  that  they 


252  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

should  be  able  to  draw  upon  the  lusty  man  power 
and  the  rich  material  resources  of  the  United  States 
to  build  a  military  cordon  around  the  new  bounda 
ries  of  the  new  States  of  the  old  world. 

Senators,  if  we  go  into  this  thing  it  means  a  great 
standing  army;  it  means  conscription  to  fight  in 
foreign  wars,  a  blighting  curse  upon  the  family  life 
of  every  American  home  every  hour.  It  means 
higher  taxes,  higher  prices,  harder  times  for  the 
poor.  It  means  greater  discontent,  a  deeper,  more 
menacing  unrest. 

Mr.  President,  whatever  course  other  senators 
may  take,  I  shall  never  vote  to  bind  my  country 
to  the  monstrous  undertaking  which  this  covenant 
would  impose. 

Speech,  "Secret  Treaties — War  Spoils  Se 
cured  by  Allies/'  U.  S.  Senate,  Nov.  13,  1919. 

Labor  Betrayed  in  the  Treaty 

Mr.  President,  in  our  modern  era  of  a  highly 
organized  industrial  society,  the  movement  for 
democracy  in  industry  is  tending  to  supersede  at 
many  points  the  old  struggle  for  political  democ 
racy. 

Competition  between  business  men  and  manufac 
turers,  wrhich  tended  to  lower  prices  and  increase 
wages,  has  wholly  disappeared.  All  the  basic  indus 
tries  of  the  Nation  and  most  of  the  subordinate 
industries  have  passed  into  the  control  of  small 
groups  of  men.  Their  power  is  absolute,  and  they 
increase  prices  and  lower  actual  wages  at  will. 


The  Peace  Treaty  and  the  League         253 

The  great  mass  of  the  working  people,  meanwhile, 
have  become  wage  earners,  employed  in  industry. 
With  these  fundamental  changes,  the  battle  line  in 
the  struggle  runs  through  the  industrial  life  of  the 
entire  nation. 

By  the  labor  section  of  this  treaty  we  are  giving 
to  an  international  body — a  superlegislature — an 
entering  wedge  through  which  it  may  intervene 
in  the  settlement  of  our  industrial  affairs. 

At  the  very  point  where  the  fight  for  real  democ 
racy  is  most  heated,  where  action  is  fraught  with 
,the  most  vital  consequences  to  the  mass  of  the 
American  people,  the  treaty  sets  up  an  international 
body  which  has  full  authority  and  power  to  act. 

Mr.  President,  I  cannot  consent  to  that  grant  of 
authority  and  power.  Believing,  as  I  do,  in  demo 
cratic  principles ;  believing  that  the  best  results  in 
legislation  and  government  are  obtained  when  those 
who  legislate  are  in  closest  touch  with,  and  elected 
rclirectly  by,  the  people ;  believing,  in  other  words, 
in  the  wisdom  of  the  principles  written  into  the 
American  constitution,  which  must  be  preserved  if 
we  are  to  save  our  free  institutions;  believing, 
finally,  that  America's  best  gift  to  the  world  and 
most  effective  aid  to  the  cause  of  labor  throughout 
the  world  would  be  the  example  of  the  perfection 
of  our  own  democracy,  unhampered  and  unre 
strained  by  outside  influences ;  believing,  sir,  these 
things,  I  shall  move  to  strike  out  the  labor  articles 
pf  this  treaty. 

Speech,  "Labor  and  the  Treaty  of  Peace," 
U.  S.  Senate,  October  29,  1919. 


254  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Effect  of  the  Labor  Articles 

Mr.  President,  what  is  the  broad  significance  of 
these  labor  provisions? 

The  practical  effect  of  setting  up  international 
machinery  of  this  kind  is  to  crystallize  the  present 
industrial  conditions  and  to  perpetuate  the  wrong 
and  injustice  in  the  present  relation  existing  between 
labor  and  capital. 

As  a  substitute  for  natural  evolution,  which  over 
a  period  of  centuries  has  been  bringing  more  and 
more  recognition  of  the  rights  of  labor,  this  treaty 
of  peace  sets  up  an  arbitrary,  artificial  organization, 
clothed  with  definite  powers  and  restricted  by  vague 
limitations,  which  has  for  its  ultimate  object  the 
maintenance  of  the  present  system  of  a  completely 
centralized  control  of  industry.  As  stated  in  the 
preamble  of  the  so-called  "labor  charter,"  varying 
conditions  throughout  the  world  make  "strict  uni 
formity  in  the  conditions  of  labor  difficult  of  imme 
diate  attainment" — but  uniformity  is  the  ultimate 
aim. 

Speech,  "Labor  and  the  Treaty  of  Peace'' 

U.  S.  Senate,  October  29,  1919. 

The  Treaty  and  the  Constitution. 

It  would  be  an  insult  to  the  memory  of  the  wise 
and  patriotic  men  who  framed  our  constitution  to 
suppose  that  they  ever  intended  that  the  great 
treaty-making  power  with  which  they  endowed  the 
senate  should  be  so  prostituted  as  to  become  merely 
a  means  of  registering  the  President's  will.  We 
know  that  nothing  of  the  sort  was  intended  by  the 


The  Peace  Treaty  and  the  League          255 

framers  of  the  constitution,  and  the  language  of 
the  constitution  permits  no  such  construction.  Noth 
ing  of  the  sort  can  happen  if  senators  perform  their 
sworn  duty  under  the  constitution,  no  matter  what 
are  the  desires  and  ambitions  which  move  the  Pres 
ident. 

I  am  not  arguing  that  a  good  treaty  should  be 
rejected  or  amended  merely  because  a  president 
disregarded  the  constitution  in  refusing  to  advise 
with  the  senate  concerning  it ;  but  I  do  say  that  any 
treaty  which  comes  into  the  senate  under  such  a 
cloud  should  be  regarded  with  suspicion.  The  pre 
sumption  is  against  it. 

Speech,  "Executive  Usurpation — The  Treaty 
and  the  Constitution"  U.  S.  Senate,  Nov.  6,  1919. 

Great  Britain's  Territorial  Gains  from  the  War. 

Mr.  President,  to  sum  up  British  territorial  gains 
from  the  war:  Great  Britain  has  added  to  her  em 
pire,  either  by  annexation  or  by  protectorates  and 
mandates,  a  territory  of  3,972,000  square  miles — 
larger  than  continental  Europe — with  a  population 
of  more  than  51,725,000  people,  99  per  cent  of  whom 
are  natives. 

Great  Britain  stands  to-day  the  dominant  power 
in  Asia  and  Africa,  and,  in  Canada,  holds  dominion 
over  more  territory  along  our  northern  boundary 
than  is  represented  in  the  combined  area  of  the 
United  States  and  Alaska. 

The  aggregate  area  of  the  British  Empire  is  one- 
fourth  of  the  land  surface  of  the  globe,  totaling 
15,000,000  square  miles,  and  her  population  of 


256  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

475,000,000  souls  represents  one-fourth  of  the  total 
population  of  the  World. 

The  government  of  the  British  Empire  is  imposed 
upon  400,000,000  subject  peoples,  against  their  will, 
by  65,000,000  people  of  the  English  speaking  race 
over  a  territory  nine  times  larger  in  extent  than 
the  Roman  empire  at  the  height  of  its  glory.  It 
is  the  boundaries  of  this  empire  which  the  United 
States,  under  the  league  of  nations,  will  be  obligated 
to  defend  against  the  external  aggression  or  internal 
disturbance  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  council, 
amounts  even  to  a  "threat  of  war"  affecting  the 
"peace  of  nations." 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  November  18,  1919. 

Denial  of  Justice  to  Egypt 

Mr.  President,  I  shall  not  review  here  the  sordid 
story  of  Egypt's  betrayal  at  the  peace  conference. 

How  four  men  chosen  by  the  Egyptian  people  to 
represent  them  at  Paris  were  seized  by  the  British 
authorities  without  warning,  deported  to  Malta,  and 
held  in  a  military  prison;  how  more  than  1,000  un 
armed  natives  were  brutally  shot  down  and  killed 
by  British  machine  guns  on  the  streets  of  Alexan 
dria  and  Cairo ;  how  President  Wilson  refused  to 
give  the  Egyptian  envoys  a  hearing  after  they  finally 
reached  Paris,  are  facts  too  well  known  to  all  of  us 
to  require  recital. 

It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  treaty  of  Versailles 
recognizes  a  permanent  British  protectorate  over 
this  unfortunate  country.  It  makes  Egypt,  with 
her  13,000,000  inhabitants,  all  of  one  race,  speaking 
the  same  language,  and  occupying  350,000  square 


The  Peace  Treaty  and  the  League          257 

miles  of  fertile  territory,  as  much  a  part  of  the 
British  Empire  as  India  or  her  colonies  in  Africa. 
It  gives  to  Great  Britain,  in  addition,  the  immense 
area  known  as  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan,  which  is 
one-third  as  large  as  the  United  States.  She  ac 
quired  this  domain,  Mr.  President,  against  the  will 
of  every  one  of  its  inhabitants,  in  violation  of  British 
pledges  to  Egypt  and  to  the  world,  and  in  wanton 
disregard  of  the  14  points  sponsored  by  the  United 
States  and  specifically  accepted  and  agreed  to  by 
Great  Britain. 

Speech,  "Secret  Treaties,  and  War  Spoils 
Secured   by   Great  Britain/'    U.   S. 

Senate,  November  18,  1919. 

The  War  in  Retrospect 

President  Wilson  has  again  spoken  on  the  League 
of  Nations.  He  begins  where  he  left  off.  He  has 
forgotten  nothing,  neither  has  he  learned  anything. 
He  repeats  his  cant  phrases  on  the  league  compact 
and  world  peace. 

He  seems  not  to  know  that  the  American  people 
have  already  passed  judgment.  God  pity  him  when 
that  time  comes.  He  will  find  that  judgment  as 
harsh  as  truth,  as  unrelenting  as  justice. 

From  the  first  sentence  to  the  last  the  league  of 
nations  is  a  sham  and  a  fraud. 

It  pretends  to  be  a  league  to  preserve  the  peace 
of  the  wrorld. 

It  is  an  alliance  among  the  victorious  nations  of 
Europe  to  preserve  for  themselves  the  plunder  and 
the  power  they  gained  by  the  war. 


258  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

It  bars  the  door  of  hope  in  the  face  of  every  peo 
ple,  embraced  within  its  terms,  now  striving  for 
freedom. 

It  betrays  China  and  rivets  the  chains  of  bondage 
upon  Egypt,  India  and  Ireland. 

It  is  an  inseparable  part  of  a  treaty,  conceived  in 
fraud,  in  violation  of  the  armistice,  and  written  in  a 
frenzy  of  hate  to  enslave  the  German  people. 

Woodrow  Wilson  and  his  three  associates  at  Ver 
sailles  were  not  peace  makers.  They  were  war 
makers. 

If  we  should  ever  adopt  the  league  of  nations  or 
ratify  the  treaty,  we  would  stand  convicted  before 
the  world  as  a  nation  without  honor. 

The  American  people  are  beginning  to  see  the  war 
in  retrospect  with  clearer  vision. 

The  dazzling  rhetoric  is  now  but  shabby  tinsel, 
much  of  the  eloquence  seems  hollow  and  insincere, 
and  the  loudest  appeals  to  patriotism  smack  of 
profiteering. 

The  great  body  of  the  American  people  were 
opposed  to  our  entering  into  the  European  war. 

The  declaration  that  we  were  fighting  for  democ 
racy  was  the  baldest,  most  wicked  lie  ever  imposed 
upon  a  people. 

This  country  never  before  engaged  in  a  war  in 
which  public  opinion  was  so  falsified  and  the  con 
victions  of  a  nation  so  stifled,  and  never  before 
were  the  rights  of  the  individual  citizen  so  ruthlessly 
and  brutally  tramped  under  foot  as  during  and  after 
the  war. 


The  Peace  Treaty  and  the  League          259 

We  sacrificed  a  quarter  of  a  million  precious 
American  lives,  incurred  a  war  debt  of  ever  growing 
billions,  disorganized  industry,  engendered  class 
hatreds  in  our  social  order,  created  a  new  crop  of 
millionaires  to  further  menace  American  democracy, 
— overturned  a  German  autocracy  and  built  up  a 
British  autocracy  infinitely  stronger  to  rule  the 
\vorld. 

And  what  of  the  rights  of  men  ?  You  cannot  name 
a  single  right  that  the  common  man  has  gained  as 
a  result  of  the  late  war, — either  in  our  own  country 
or  in  any  one  of  the  allied  countries. 

The  common  people  of  all  the  countries  engaged 
in  the  war  suffered  and  starved  and  died  by  the  mil 
lions  and  what  have  they  to  show  for  it? 

They  must  labor  for  generations  to  restore  the 
ravages  of  the  war.  They  and  their  children  must 
bear  for  unnumbered  years  to  come  the  fearful  bur 
den  of  the  war  debt,  paying  it  over  and  over  many 
times  in  vast  interest  charges  and  in  the  higher  and 
higher  living  cost  which  the  war  debt  with  its  depre 
ciated  dollar  entails. 

War  Destroys  Human  Rights 

The  people  of  no  country  engaged  in  the  war 
desired  it,  and  the  people  of  every  country  involved 
would  have  ended  it  quickly  on  just  and  honorable 
terms  to  all  if  left  to  their  decision. 

This  was  a  war  of  big  business  for  bigger  busi 
ness.  It  was  a  war  for  trade  routes,  and  commercial 
advantages.  It  was  a  war  for  new  territory  and  the 
right  to  exploit  weaker  peoples.  It  was  a  mean, 
sordid,  mercenary  war. 


260  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

This  was  not  so  clear  to  some  of  us  when  the 
smoke  of  battle  obscured  our  view.  But  it  is  writ 
ten  large  in  the  terms  of  the  treaty  and  the  proposed 
alliance  among  the  victorious  governments. 

It  is  the  great  commercial  and  exploiting  interests 
in  whose  behalf  this  war  was  fought  that  are  to 
be  protected  by  the  League  of  Nations  and  the 
Treaty,  upon  the  ratification  of  which  Woodrow 
Wilson  still  doggedly  insists. 

I  challenge  any  man  to  name  one  new  privilege, 
one  added  right  which  the  common  people  of  this 
or  any  one  of  the  allied  countries  are  to  gain  as 
the  result  of  the  war. 

But  pity  the  man  so  blind  as  not  to  see  that  the 
rights  most  cherished  among  free  men  in  all  ages 
and  in  all  countries,  were  wickedly  destroyed  as  a 
part  of  the  war  and  the  afterwar  program. 

Freedom  of  assembly,  freedom  of  speech,  and  of 
the  press,  no  arrests  without  warrant  and  without 
probable  cause,  no  secret  search  and  unlawful  sei 
zure  of  property,  no  trial  except  before  impartial 
judges  and  juries,  no  forced  military  service  especi 
ally  in  foreign  lands — these  are  some  of  the  rights 
which  everyone  knows  have  been  wrested  from  the 
people  of  this  country  as  a  result  of  this  war. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  May,  1920. 

League  of  Nations  To  Preserve  Status  Quo 

Mr.  President,  there  is  one  agency  to  which  Great 
Britain  may  look  for  aid  in  holding  her  rebellious 
subjects  in  check,  and  that  agency  is  the  league 
of  nations. 


The  Peace  Treaty  and  the  League          261 

I  care  not  what  reservations  or  amendments  we 
attach  to  this  covenant.  In  the  final  analysis  it  is 
an  instrument  for  the  preservation  of  the  status  quo. 
Like  the  Holy  Alliance  of  1815,  it  is  couched  in  the 
language  of  idealism  and  peace.  But,  like  the  Holy 
Alliance,  it  will  be  used  for  the  suppression  of 
nationalities  and  for  the  prosecution  of  oppressive 
warfare. 

This  covenant  closes  the  door  in  the  face  of  every 
people  striving  for  freedom.  Not  one  of  the  races 
now  held  in  bondage  had  a  voice  in  the  making  of 
this  instrument.  Not  one  was  granted  an  oppor 
tunity  to  be  heard  at  Paris.  This  covenant  was  so 
cunningly  conceived  that  the  first  act  of  revolution 
in  India,  Korea,  Egypt,  or  Ireland  will  be  inter 
preted  as  a  "threat  of  war"  and  a  disturbance  of  the 
"peace  of  nations."  Patriots  of  India,  Egypt,  Ireland, 
seeking  external  aid  for  their  countries  as  Franklin 
sought  aid  in  France  for  the  struggling  American 
colonies,  and  as  Kossuth,  Kosciuszko,  DeValera, 
and  many  others  have  sought  aid  in  the  United 
States  for  the  cause  of  human  freedom,  by  the 
terms  of  this  treaty  become  international  outlaws. 
No  ingenuity  of  interpretation  of  the  articles  of 
this  document  can  remove  from  my  mind  the  con 
viction  that  it  destroys  everywhere  the  right  of 
asylum. 

The  White  Man's  Injustice  to  Asia 
If  we  are  to  disregard  every  principle  of  our  free 
institutions  and  every  tradition  of  the  past,  there 
are  yet  other  reasons  why  we  should  withhold  our 
support  from  this  new  alliance. 


262  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

We  should  not  deceive  ourselves  into  believing 
that  there  can  be  a  permanent  enforcement  of  the 
present  system  of  exploitation  in  Asia.  The  civili 
zation  of  these  Asiatic  countries  is  more  venerable 
than  our  own.  Asia's  contribution  to  the  world  has 
been  the  principle  of  human  brotherhood.  Asia  has 
produced  the  great  moral  teachers  of  history — Con 
fucius,  Buddha,  Mohammed,  Christ. 

To  these  great  teachers  may  be  traced  the  non- 
resistance  and  pacifism  of  the  Asiatic  peoples. 

The  races  of  Asia  have  now  suffered  for  three 
centuries  under  European  exploitation.  Off  the  east 
coast  of  China  they  see  the  smallest  of  the  Asiatic 
nations — Japan — holding  a  place  of  power  in  the 
councils  of  the  world.  They  know  that  Japan  owes 
her  present  ascendancy  to  the  military  and  naval 
strength  which  she  built  up  in  a  decade.  With 
this  example  before  them,  is  it  likely  that  the  mil 
lions  of  Asia  will  continue  long  under  foreign  rule? 
China  has  already  awakened  under  the  stimulus  of 
a  revolution  and  the  theft  of  Shantung.  India  is 
approaching  revolt.  Should  the  league  of  nations 
attempt  to  maintain  indefinitely  the  status  quo  in 
Asia,  the  world  will  witness  a  more  terrible  war 
than  the  one  from  which  we  have  emerged.  It  will 
be  a  continental  war — a  race  war,  in  which  the  white 
races  will  be  hopelessly  outnumbered. 

If  we  ratify  the  treaty  with  Germany  we  are 
leading  this  country  farther  into  the  shadow  of  that 
menace. 

Mr.  President,  I  do  not  speak  of  Great  Britain's 
mighty  empire  in  a  spirit  of  covetousness. 


The  Peace  Treaty  and  the  League          263 

The  British  Empire  and  the  League 

I  do  not  covet  for  this  country  a  position  in  the 
world  which  history  has  shown  would  make  us  the 
object  of  endless  jealousies  and  hatreds,  involve  us 
in  perpetual  war,  and  lead  to  the  extinction  of  our 
domestic  liberty.  I,  for  one,  harbor  no  ambition  to 
see  this  country  start  upon  the  path  which  has  lured 
other  nations  to  their  ruin. 

Mr.  President,  we  cannot,  without  sacrificing  this 
Republic,  maintain  world  dominion  for  ourselves. 
And,  sir,  we  should  not  pledge  ourselves  to  main 
tain  it  for  another. 

Where  are  Great  Britain's  boundaries  likely  to  be 
assailed?  Certainly  not  in  Australia,  Canada,  South 
Africa,  or  New  Zealand.  These  self-governing  do 
minions — colonized  and  peopled  by  Englishmen — 
have  given  ample  proof  of  their  loyalty  to  the 
motherland,  and  their  Anglo-Saxon  populations 
need  no  league  of  nations  to  guarantee  the  integrity 
of  their  territories. 

It  is  the  vast  native  populations,  held  in  bondage 
for  the  enrichment  of  a  small  class  of  imperialist 
aliens — the  millions  of  India,  Egypt,  and  the  Otto* 
man  Empire — who  are  apt  in  the  future  to  disturb 
the  status  quo  created  by  this  peace. 

It  is  these  peoples  that  the  league  of  nations  must 
hold  in  check.  It  is  to  maintain  this  part  of  her 
empire  that  Great  Britain  must  keep  her  mighty 
navy  and  burden  the  English  people  with  taxes. 

It  is  my  conviction  that  the  English  people  resid 
ing  in  the  dominions  and  the  British  Isles  would 


264  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

benefit   most   if   this   illicit  portion   of   the   Empire 
should  crumble  and  fall  away. 

If  the  British  empire  were  limited  to  the  domin 
ions,  with  its  government  founded  upon  the  consent 
of  the  governed,  and  hence  requiring  no  guaranties 
from  other  nations,  the  peace  of  the  world  would 
rest  upon  a  sounder  basis. 

Lincoln  on  the  Subjugation  of  Weaker  Peoples 

Mr.  President,  I  know  the  argument  will  be  ad 
vanced  here  that  the  400,000,000  unwilling  subjects 
of  the  British  empire  enjoy  better  government  than 
they  would  enjoy  if  left  to  govern  themselves. 

Senators,  that  is  an  argument  which,  even  if  it 
v/ere  based  on  truth,  should  have  no  place  in  the  Amer 
ican  congress.  We  owe  our  national  existence  to 
the  courage  of  a  handful  of  men  who  proclaimed  to 
the  world  the  self-evident  truth  that- 
All  men  are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed 
by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights ; 
that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness ;  that  to  secure  these  rights  govern 
ments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed. 

A  controversy  arose  in  this  country  60  years  ago 
as  to  the  application  of  those  great  principles.  In 
that  contest,  Abraham  Lincoln  contended  that  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  applied  not  alone  to 
white  men,  or  to  the  descendants  of  the  English 
settlers  in  the  Colonies,  but  to  all  men,  white  and 
black,  yellow  and  brown,  and  he  declared  that  Dec 
laration  the  "sheet  anchor  of  American  republi 
canism." 


The  Peace  Treaty  and  the  League  265 

When  the  arguments  were  advanced  in  this  coun 
try  for  the  enslavement  of  the  Negro  which  are  now 
advanced  for  denying  the  natives  of  India  and  of 
Egypt  self-government,  Lincoln  replied  (Chicago, 
111.,  July  10,  1858)  : 

"Those  arguments  that  are  made,  that  the  inferior 
race  are  to  be  treated  with  as  much  allowance  as 
they  are  capable  of  enjoying;  that  as  much  is  to 
be  done  for  them  as  their  condition  will  allow — what 
are  these  arguments?  They  are  these  arguments 
that  kings  have  made  for  enslaving  the  people  in 
all  ages  of  the  world.  You  will  find  that  all  the 
arguments  in  favor  of  kingcraft  were  of  this  class; 
they  always  bestrode  the  necks  of  the  people,  not 
that  they  wanted  to  do  it,  but  because  the  people 
were  better  off  for  being  ridden.  That  is  their  argu 
ment,  and  this  argument  of  the  judge  (Douglas) 
is  the  same  old  argument  that  says,  you  work,  and 
I  eat;  you  toil,  and  I  \vill  enjoy  the  fruits  of  it. 
Turn  it  whatever  way  you  will,  whether  it  come 
from  the  mouth  of  a  king  as  an  excuse  for  enslav 
ing  the  people  of  his  country,  or  from  the  mouth 
of  men  of  one  race  as  a  reason  for  enslaving  the 
men  of  another  race,  it  is  all  the  same  old  serpent." 

Mr.  President,  when  Abraham  Lincoln  contended 
for  the  right  of  self-government  as  the  heritage  of 
"all  men  in  all  lands,  everywhere,"  who  can  say 
that  he  would  have  excluded  the  people  of  Egypt, 
of  India  and  of  Ireland? 

These  people  do  not  ask  that  we  send  armies  to 
Europe  or  Asia  to  aid  them  in  gaining  their  free 
dom.  They  ask  simply  that  we  shall  do  nothing 


266  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

to  hinder  them  in  their  struggle  for  independence 
from  the  power  which  once  held  sway  over  the 
American  colonies. 

The  hope  expressed  here,  that  by  entering  the 
league  of  nations  we  can  best  serve  these  subject 
races,  is,  in  my  opinion,  a  forlorn  hope. 

If  we  were  powerless  to  serve  oppressed  peoples 
at  Paris,  by  what  logic  can  it  be  argued  that  we 
shall  be  better  able  to  serve  them  at  Geneva? 

At  Paris  our  enemies,  our  allies,  and  the  neutral 
nations  of  the  world  had  accepted  the  14  points 
which  we  were  pledged  to  write  into  the  peace. 

How  the  representatives  of  the  United  States 
compromised  those  principles,  how  they  set  aside 
the  doctrine  of  self-determination,  how  they  aban 
doned  "open  covenants  openly  arrived  at"  for  the 
secret  treaties  of  the  Allies  are  now  matters  of  his 
tory.  Can  it  be  hoped  that  at  Geneva,  with  the 
confidence  of  the  world  blasted  in  the  stability  of 
our  purposes  and  ourselves  bound  to  a  covenant 
which  pledges  our  support  for  the  status  quo,  we 
shall  be  a  powerful  advocate  for  Korea,  India,  Egypt 
and  Ireland? 

The  Terms  of  the  Peace  Treaty 

Mr.  President,  wrhen  the  American  people  were 
committed  to  this  war  the  great  mass  of  them  were 
led  to  believe  that  they  were  suffering  and  fighting 
for  the  destruction  of  arbitrary  power  exercised  by 
strong  nations  over  weaker  people — fighting  to 
carry  democracy  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  war  ended.  We  sacrificed  a  quarter  of  a 
million  precious  American  lives,  incurred  a  war 


The  Peace  Treaty  and  the  League          267 

debt  of  thirty  billions,  disorganized  industry,  engen 
dered  class  hatred  in  our  social  order,  created  a  new 
crop  of  profiteering  millionaires,  overturned  a  Ger 
man  autocracy  and  built  up  a  British  autocracy 
infinitely  stronger  to  rule  the  world,  and  we  are 
now  engaged  in  creating  a  league  of  nations  to 
perpetuate  its  power  and  bind  this  Government 
to  respect  and  preserve  its  extended  boundaries. 

Look  at  the  map  of  the  world  as  Great  Britain's 
boundaries  were  fixed  before  the  war !  British  pos 
sessions — widely  scattered,  outlying,  detached,  iso 
lated — waiting  to  be  united,  bound  together,  and 
made  secure! 

Look  at  the  map  to-day,  with  British  boundaries 
reaching  out  over  the  earth  to  embrace  her  spoils 
of  war. 

The  map  of  the  world  has  become  the  map  of 
Great  Britain.  It  is  not  the  work  of  chance.  On 
its  face  it  is  the  written  confession  of  the  guilt  of 
British  imperialists  for  their  full  share  in  the  years 
of  diplomatic  intrigue  which  embroiled  the  world 
in  war. 

How  puny  appear  the  ambitions  of  Germany  com 
pared  to  the  imperial  power  now  actually  attained 
by  Great  Britain ! 

In  spite  of  the  protestation  of  Lloyd  George  that 
England  did  not  seek  "one  yard  of  territory,"  Great 
Britain  has  made  capital  of  the  sacrifices  of  the 
United  States,  of  France  and  of  the  English  people, 
to  bring  a  vast  new  territory  under  her  flag,  and 
British  bankers  and  traders  are  preparing  for  a 
new  era  of  exploitation. 


268  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  British  empire,  in  which 
the  missing  links  were  neatly  fitted  at  the  Paris 
conference,  is  an  accident  of  events. 

It  is  plainly  the  consummation  of  the  long-con 
sidered  and  well-planned  program  of  the  imperial 
ists  who  dominate  the  British  Foreign  Office,  at 
the  expense  of  the  English  people.  To  this  source, 
in  my  opinion,  may  be  traced  many  of  the  minor 
irritants  which  led  up  to  the  war. 

It  was  this  force  which  built  up  in  the  United 
States  by  subtle  propaganda  hatred  of  Germany.  It 
is  this  power  which  now  seeks  American  support 
for  a  treaty  visiting  upon  the  German  republic  a 
peace  more  crushing,  more  harsh  and  pitiless  in  its 
terms,  than  any  peace  threatened  to  be  imposed 
upon  the  German  empire  under  the  rule  of  the 
kaiser  and  the  junker. 

That  this  venomous  and  unreasoning  hatred  of 
Germany  still  persists  in  some  parts  of  our  coun 
try  will  not  restrain  me  from  raising  my  voice  in 
protest  against  the  crushing  of  the  German  repub 
lic  and  the  German  people,  who  according  to  the 
president's  own  statement,  were  not  responsible  for 
the  war. 

If  we  ratify  the  treaty  of  Versailles,  after  pledg 
ing  ourselves  to  a  peace  based  upon  the  14  points — 
which  had  been  approved  by  the  allies  and  accepted 
in  good  faith  by  the  central  powers — we  shall  stand 
convicted  before  the  world  as  a  nation  without 
honor,  and  unworthy  to  be  trusted  to  fulfill  the 
pledges  it  has  made. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Nov.  18,  1919. 


The  Peace  Treaty  and  the  League  269 

Trying  To  Make  It  a  Real  League  of  Peace 

(Note:  On  Nov.  10,  1919,  Senator  La  Follette 
presented  to  the  senate  six  reservations  for  adop 
tion  as  part  of  the  covenant  of  the  league  of  nations. 
These  reservations,  all  of  which  were  voted  down 
on  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  Nov.  18,  provided: 

1.  A  guaranty  to  all  nations  of  the  right  of  self- 
determination. 

2.  Abolition  of  conscription. 

3.  A  popular  referendum. 

4.  Limitation  of  armaments. 

5.  Prevention  of  forcible  annexations. 

6.  Prohibition   against  the   use   of   mandates   for 
the  exploitation  of  the  inhabitants  and  resources  of 
weaker  states.) 

Independence  of  Nations 

It  is  a  mistaken  policy  that  assumes  a  community 
of  nations  can  prosper  any  more  than  a  community 
of  individuals  by  one  or  more  tyrannizing  over  the 
others  and  monopolizing  the  world's  markets.  The 
world's  greatest  progress  must  be  best  served  by 
the  largest  possible  development  of  the  national 
life  of  each  country.  We  believe  there  is  still 
room  for  all  in  the  vast  and  undeveloped  areas  of 
the  earth. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Feb.  12,  1915. 


XX 

INTERNATIONAL    RELATIONS 

An  Illegal  War  in  Siberia 

RESIDENT  Wilson  is  conducting  a 
war  against  Russia  in  open  and  noto 
rious  violation  of  the  constitution. 

Article   I,   Section  8   of   the   constitu 
tion  provides  as  follows : 

"The  Congress  shall  have  power, — 

"To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and 
reprisal,  and  make  rules  concerning  captures  on 
land  and  water." 

The  framers  of  the  constitution  were  unanimously 
opposed  to  vesting  the  president  with  power  to 
make  war  upon  any  country  or  any  people. 

Congress  has  never  declared  war  against  Russia. 

Congress  has  never  raised  an  army  or  voted  a 
dollar  of  money  or  made  rules  for  the  regulation  of 
the  land  and  naval  forces  in  a  war  against  the  Rus 
sian  people. 

But  the  president  is  using  an  army  raised  for  a 
wholly  different  purpose,  and  expending  money  ap 
propriated  by  congress  to  a  wholly  different  use,  to 
prosecute  a  war  against  a  people  and  a  country, 
with  whom  under  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  we  are  at  peace. 

And  called  upon  by  senators  and  representatives, 
again  and  again,  from  the  floors  of  congress,  to  ex- 


International  Relations  271 

plain  why  the  lives  of  American  soldier  boys  are 
being  sacrificed  in  conducting  an  unconstitutional 
war  on  Russia,  the  president  refuses  and  neglects 
to  make  an  answer. 

•La  Follette's  Magazine,  April,  1919. 

Recognition  of  Russia 

Why  did  the  Wilson  government  refuse  to  rec 
ognize  the  soviet  government  of  Russia? 

Was  it  because  the  soviet  government,  in  order 
to  maintain  itself,  executed  a  total  of  3,200  people 
in  Petrograd,  Moscow  and  all  other  cities,  most  of 
whom  had  organized  counter  revolutions  and  were 
plotting  the  overthrow'  of  the  soviet  government, 
and  some  of  whom  were  spurious  supporters  of  the 
soviet  government  who  had  been  convicted  of  graft 
ing  and  robbing  that  government? 

If  recognition  of  the  soviet  government  was  re 
fused  because  of  the  execution  of  a  total  of  3,200 
people  in  Petrograd,  Moscow  and  all  other  cities, 
then  why  did  Wilson's  government  recognize  the 
Mannerheim  white  guard  government  in  Finland, 
which  had  executed  and  murdered  by  starvation  in 
its  prisons  more  than  30,000  Finnish  red  prisoners? 

In  other  words,  if  3,200  soviet  "atrocities"  were 
sufficient  to  bar  the  Lenine  government  in  Russia 
from  recognition  by  the  Wilson  government,  then 
why  should  not  30,000  white  guard  atrocities  in 
Finland  have  constituted  ten  times  as  strong  a  bar 
against  the  recognition  of  the  Mannerheim  govern 
ment  in  Finland  by  the  Wilson  government  in 
Washington  ? 


272  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Or  is  it  possible  that  the  real  reason  for  refusing 
recognition  to  the  soviet  government  of  Russia, 
and  even  denying  to  our  merchants  and  manufac 
turers  the  right  to  buy  and  sell  and  trade  with  that 
government,  is  because  it  is  a  socialist  government 
based  upon  the  common  ownership  of  all  property? 

And,  did  the  Wilson  government  recognize  the 
Kolchak  "government"  because  Admiral  Kolchak 
is  a  survivor  of  the  despotic  system  of  the  czar, 
and  will  restore  the  "rights"  of  property,  return  the 
land  to  the  select,  aristocratic  seven  per  cent,  give 
the  peasants  black  bread  and  the  knout,  and  forever 
dispel  the  hope  of  an  industrial  democracy? 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  July,  1919. 

The   Rights  of  Neutrals 

An  Associated  Press  despatch  cabled  from  Paris 
states  that:  "Norway  has  refused  to  join  in  a  block 
ade  of  Germany,  in  case  the  German  delegates  refuse 
to  sign  the  Peace  Treaty." 

Sweden,  Holland  and  Switzerland  have  made  like 
declarations. 

Thus  do  these  Christian  nations  rebuke  the  three 
men  \vho  control  at  Versailles,  for  applying  the 
same  savage  policy  of  starvation  of  a  people  to  force 
acceptance  of  "peace,"  which  they  employed  in 
prosecuting  the  war. 

The  whole  world  will  always  owe  a  debt  of  grati 
tude  to  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  Holland,  and 
Switzerland.  With  the  menace  of  starvation  hang 
ing  over  them  they  preserved  as  best  they  could 
the  integrity  of  their  neutrality  with  Germany  and 


International   Relations  273 

refused  to  make  an  inhuman  hunger-war  upon  inno 
cent  women  and  children. 

For  this  brave,  righteous  stand  in  defense  of  the 
"right  of  self-determination,"  these  independent 
little  nations  were  terribly  punished.  Suffering  hor 
ribly  for  food,  compelled  to  eat  in  some  sections 
bread  made  from  the  bark  of  trees,  their  death-rate 
rapidly  increasing  because  short-rationed  by  Wil 
son's  embargo,  they  heroically  resisted  to  the  bitter 
end  the  atrocious  order — actual  or  implied — to 
''Fight  or  Starve." 

And  now  Norway,  Sweden,  Holland,  and  Switzer 
land  again  refuse  to  be  made  a  party  to  forcing  the 
acceptance  of  a  treaty  on  Germany  through  a  policy 
of  coercion  by  starvation. 

Such  a  policy  is  a  reproach  to  civilization. 

These  jugglers  writh  the  world's  destiny  at  Ver 
sailles  have  for  six  months  locked  themselves  away 
from  the  peoples  they  are  supposed  to  represent, 

Judged  by  the  fragmentary  data  given  out.  they 
now  seek  to  commit  the  world  to  peace  terms  which 
make  a  ghastly  mockery  of  the  Fourteen  Points, 
and  all  of  the  other  elocutionary  frummery  which 
preceded  and  followed  their  announcement  by  Mr. 
Wilson. 

Aside  from  all  question  as  to  its  terms — in  so 
far  as  we  are  permitted  to  know  anything  about 
them — the  method  of  compelling  acceptance  by  the 
Germans  and  Austrians,  cries  to  heaven  for  a  protest 
from  the  Christianized  world. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  June,  1919. 


274  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

"Martyred  Ireland" 

The  domination  of  Ireland  by  England  has  been 
no  less  a  tragedy  than  the  domination  of  Poland 
by  Russia,  Germany  and  Austria.  Racially  and  geo 
graphically,  Ireland  is  as  far  separated  from  England 
as  Poland  is  from  Germany.  Politically  Ireland  has 
been  at  war  with  England  for  700  years.  All  the 
world  knows  the  wonderful  fertility  of  the  Irish 
soil  and  that  except  for  the  cruel  oppression  of 
England,  Ireland  would  today  have  many  times 
its  present  population. 

If  President  Wilson  was  seeking  democracy  for 
the  world,  he  would  have  joined  the  cause  of  Ireland 
with  that  of  Poland  and  the  other  small  nations. 
Had  the  Emerald  Isle  been  an  enemy  instead  of 
an  allied  possession,  the  American  representatives 
of  the  Irish  cause  would  have  been  given  a  different 
kind  of  reception  and  the  Irish  republic  might  have 
been  accorded  recognition. 

If  the  President  had  tried  to  secure  self-determi 
nation  for  Ireland  and  had  failed,  he  might  have 
become  the  idol  of  Irish  patriots.  But  he  did  not 
try.  Under  the  cloak  of  professed  friendship  he  left 
the  Irish  people  to  the  mercy  of  their  masters.  The 
commercial  interests  of  the  British  Empire  over 
topped  the  human  rights  of  martyred  Ireland. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  June,  1919. 


XXI 

THE  AMERICAN   SOLDIER 


Important  Place  of  Militia 

UR  forefathers  wrote  it  in  the  consti 
tution  that  states  should  have  the  right 
to  maintain  their  militia.  In  every 
emergency  of  war  this  country  has  had 
to  meet,  the  wisdom  of  its  maintenance 
has  been  strongly  demonstrated.  As  Shakespeare 
says  of  meeting  death,  so  we  may  say  of  meeting 
war,  "The  readiness  is  all." 

In  times  of  profoundest  peace,  these  military  or 
ganizations  serve  a  high  and  noble  purpose.  It  is 
not  alone  that  they  uphold  the  law  and  create 
respect  for  it,  but  they  preserve  and  inculcate  the 
spirit  of  patriotism,  of  loyalty  to  state  and  country. 
They  make  social  centers,  where  young  men  come 
together  for  self-government,  where  order,  disci 
pline  and  obedience  are  learned ;  where  the  spirit  of 
disinterested  comradeship  is  fostered ;  where  united 
civic  and  military  support  of  right  and  justice  is 
stimulated. 

The  national  guard  of  the  state  represents  the 
health  and  vigor  of  its  young  manhood.  Many  of 
its  members  are  sons  and  grandsons  of  the  veterans 
of  the  civil  war,  who  have  learned  from  the  spoken 
word — better  than  history  can  teach,  what  that  war 
cost  and  what  it  w^as  fought  for.  Back  of  that 


276  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

war  was  the  one  for  independence,  to  establish  this 
government  of  equal  rights,  equal  opportunities, 
equal  responsibilities  and  equal  burdens — a  govern 
ment  resting  on  the  will  of  the  people.  Of  this 
generation,  it  will  never  be  forgotten  that  the  flag 
of  freedom  was  carried  to  a  helpless  people,  an 
oppressed  and  suffering  nation,  under  a  despotism 
more  cruel  than  human  slavery.  These  gatherings 
and  all  the  work  of  the  guardsmen  impress  these 
lessons  upon  us  over  and  over  again  and  raise  in 
each  the  highest  standards  of  civic  and  military 
duty. 

In  these  times  of  selfish  commercialism  and  busi 
ness  absorption,  whatever  tends  to  loftier  senti 
ment,  purer  patriotism,  higher  ideals  of  citizenship, 
should  be  fostered  because  it  makes  for  the  security 
of  our  most  precious  heritage. 

Address  to  National   Guard   Officers, 

January  31,    1902. 

Back  Up  Our  Boys 

There  is,  and  of  course  can  be,  no  real  difference 
of  opinion  concerning  the  duty  of  the  citizen  to  dis 
charge  to  the'  last  limit  whatever  obligation  the 
war  lays  upon  him. 

Our  young  men  are  being  taken  by  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  for  the  purpose  of  waging  this  war 
on  the  continent  of  Europe,  possibly  Asia  or  Africa, 
or  anywhere  else  that  they  may  be  ordered.  Noth 
ing  must  be  left  undone  for  their  protection.  They 
must  have  the  best  army,  ammunition,  and  equip 
ment  that  money  can  buy.  They  must  have  the 


The  American  Soldier  277 

best  training  and  the  best  officers  which  this  great 
country  can  produce.  The  dependents  and  relatives 
they  leave  at  home  must  be  provided  for,  not  mea- 
gerly,  but  generously  so  far  as  money  can  provide 
for  them. 

I  have  done  some  of  the  hardest  work  in  my  life 
during  the  last  few  weeks  on  the  revenue  bill  to 
raise  the  largest  possible  amount  of  money  from 
surplus  incomes  and  \var  profits  for  this  war  and 
upon  other  measures  to  provide  for  the  protection 
of  the  soldiers  and  their  families.  That  I  was  not 
able  to  accomplish  more  along  this  line  is  a  great 
disappointment  to  me.  I  did  all  that  I  could,  and  I 
shall  continue  to  fight  with  all  the  power  at  my 
command  until  wealth  is  made  to  bear  more  of  the 
burden  of  this  war  than  has  been  laid  upon  it  by 
the  present  congress. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Oct.  6,  1917. 

Give  Comfort  to  the  Boys 

The  press  dispatches  inform  us  that  our  troops 
in  France  are  occupying  first  line  trenches  in  the 
fighting  line.  This  means  for  them  the  supreme 
s?crifice  for  country.  Their  suffering  will  be  un 
measured  and  unmeasurable.  This  country  has  ap 
propriated  immense  sums  for  the  war,  but  there  are 
things  money  will  not  buy.  The  things  that  com 
fort  the  spirit  of  man  come  not  only  from  the 
knowledge  of  great  deeds  well  done  but  also  from 
the  feeling  that  our  fellowmen  are  not  unappre- 
ciative  of  such  service.  Even  though  the  govern 
ment  is  generous  or  even  lavish  in  its  official  care 
of  these  men  there  will  still  be  the  need,  the  ever 


278  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

pressing  need,  of  that  spiritual  comfort  that  comes 
from  the  gentle  hand  of  woman ;  the  home  things 
that  revive  and  sustain  in  the  dark  days  of  depres 
sion  and  pain;  the  little  things  that  carry  the 
thoughts  of  love  and  affection.  These  will  be  fur 
nished,  if  at  all,  by  those  ministering  angels  of 
mercy,  the  Red  Cross,  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps, 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  K.  C.,  and  kindred  organiza 
tions.  The  fraternal  orders  can  also  be  of  great 
service  to  their  members  in  the  army. 

There  should  be  a  generous  outpouring  from  home 
people  to  sustain  these  organizations  in  the  field. 
Everyone  should  make  personal  sacrifice  to  the 
end  that  our  brave  boys  be  remembered,  not  only 
for  the  day,  but  continuously  and  every  day  till  their 
return. 

War  of  today,  as  never  before,  brings  suffering 
and  horrors  that  we  at  home  can  never  fully  ap 
preciate  but  which  we  can  at  least  in  some  degree 
alleviate. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  November,  1917. 

On  the  American  Fighting  Man 

American  soldiers  are  now  in  France  in  large 
numbers.  Over  800,000  men  have  already  gone 
across.  More  are  going  every  day. 

American  ship  production  is  going  on  apace.  A 
beginning  has  been  made  in  production  of  aircraft. 
Machine  guns  will  soon  be  manufactured  in  quan 
tity. 

The  U-boats  are  still  taking  large  toll,  but  rela 
tively  to  shipments,  destruction  from  submarines 
is  growing  less. 


The  American  Soldier  279 

The  struggle  on  the  western  front  has  been  most 
desperate  and  critical  since  March  21.  Undoubtedly 
the  situation  will  continue  to  be  critical  for  some 
time.  But  the  force  of  this  mighty  nation  is  being 
felt  more  and  more  as  the  days  go  by.  Eventually 
we  must  exercise  a  dominating  influence  in  ending 
the  war. 

There  have  been  serious  and  dangerous  delays  in 
equipping  our  armies.  Happily  the  outlook  is 
better  for  the  future. 

Our  men  at  the  front  are  giving  a  good  account  of 
themselves.  They  are  preserving  the  best  tradi 
tions  of  the  American  soldier.  They  are  under  no 
illusions.  They  knoAv  that  war  is  hell.  But  they 
will  meet  the  enemy  on  his  own  ground  and  un 
complainingly  and  cheerfully  make  every  sacrifice 
demanded  to  \vin  the  fight. 

We  at  home  must  make  our  sacrifices  in  the  same 
spirit.  Everyone  must  do  his  part.  When  each  one 
of  us  has  done  his  best  he  may  with  justice  com 
plain  of  him  who  has  not  done  his  share.  The  sac 
rifices  of  war  are  many.  Least  of  these  are  the 
financial  burdens. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  June,   1918. 


XXII 
AGRICULTURE  AND  CO-OPERATION 


The  Farm  Life  of  the  Future 

T  requires  no  gift  of  prophecy  to  fore 
see  the  changes  which  another  gener 
ation  will  unfold. 

The  development  of  this  new  coun 
try,  with  its  privations  and  hardships, 
made  life  upon  the  farm  one  of  long  hours,  of  exact 
ing  toil,  anxious  watching  for  results,  and,  often, 
the  closest  kind  of  living.  There  was  little  leisure, 
little  opportunity  for  reading  and  study,  almost  no 
time  for  recreation  or  holiday.  Yet,  so  wholesome 
v;as  the  life,  so  normal  the  education  of  hand  and 
brain,  so  exacting  the  demands  upon  self-reliance 
and  individual  courage,  so  firm  and  secure  the  moral 
foundations  made  by  habits  of  industry  and  thrift, 
that  the  farm  has  furnished  not  only  the  state  and 
nation,  but  the  professional  and  business  world, 
with  its  leaders  of  men  and  captains  of  industry. 

Only  a  few  years  ago  one  of  the  most  vexing  prob 
lems  was  how  to  keep  the  boys  and  girls  upon  the 
farm.  But  important  and  sweeping  changes  are 
taking  place  in  the  professional,  the  commercial, 
and  industrial  world.  Consolidation  and  combina 
tion  are  rapidly  narrowing  the  field  of  individual 
opportunity  and  effort,  in  the  pursuits  which  a 
quarter  of  a  century  ago  tempted  ambition  and  re 
warded  talent  and  industry.  Except  for  the  few 


Agriculture  and  Co-operation  281 

masters  of  finance,  he  who  is  now  counted  fortu 
nate  enough  to  find  a  place  in  the  complex  system 
of  modern  business  life,  must  encounter  an  abnor 
mal  strain  and  tension,  and  from  the  very  condi 
tions  of  success,  forego  all  opportunity  for  individ 
ual  development  and  personal  achievement. 

With  the  increasing  competition  in  the  profes 
sions  and  the  lessening  opportunity  for  large  profits 
and  great  fortunes  for  the  average  individual  in 
business,  contrasted  with  the  advancement  in  agri 
culture  and  increasing  advantages  of  country  life, 
the  conditions  may  soon  be  reversed  and  our  prob 
lems  be  how  to  keep  our  sons  and  daughters  away 
from  the  farm  and  with  us  in  business  and  profes 
sional  life. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  plain  that  agriculture  in 
this  country  has  a  future  heretofore  unknown  in 
the  world.  Farming  is  now  the  most  distinctive 
American  occupation.  It  is  the  source  of  our  safest, 
most  conservative  citizenship  and  highest  average 
of  intelligence. 

Put  the  farm  in  direct  communication  with  the 
world  by  the  rural  delivery,  the  telephone,  the  elec 
tric  railway,  the  traveling  library,  the  township 
school,  the  improved  highway,  and  you  have  given 
it  the  essential  advantages  of  the  city  without  de 
priving  it  of  the  essential  advantages  of  the  coun 
try. 

There  will  be  left  the  sweet  and  vitalizing  coun 
try  air,  the  isolation  of  broad  acres,  the  beauty  of 
hill  and  valley,  woodland  and  meadow,  and  living, 
running  water.  The  charm  of  the  ripening  grain, 


282  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

coming'  to  its  mysterious  fullness  in  the  warm  em 
brace  of  the  sunshine,  the  honest  pride  in  the  graz 
ing  flocks,  and  the  affectionate  interest  in  their 
growing  young,  will  always  be  an  inherent  and  up 
lifting  element  of  life  upon  the  farm.  Xhe_rich 
blessing  of  unconscious  health,  the  joy  of  wholeso m e 
work,  that  brings  wholesome  rest  and  who  1  e  s  o  m  e 
appetite,  are  the  natural  rewards  of  this  outdoor  oc- 
cupation.  Nearness  to  nature,  nearness  to  God,  a 
truer  philosophy,  a  keener  human  sympathy,  higher 
ideals,  greater  individuality,  will  ever  be  stamped 
upon  the  life  and  character  of  the  country  home. 

The  new  agriculture,  the  new  education,  new  in 
ventions  will  give  added  interest,  larger  profits, 
greater  certainty  of  success.  They  will  lighten  its 
burdens,  widen  its  sphere,  and  ultimately  make  agri 
culture  the  most  desirable  of  all  human  avocations. 
A  new  day  has  already  broken  upon  the  tiller  of 
the  soil.  The  new  life  upon  the  farm  will  recognize 
riot  only  the  material  value  and  dignity  of  labor, 
but  the  increasing  necessity  for  greater  leisure  and 
a  larger  measure  of  recreation.  It  will  not  be  only 
a  life  of  industrious  independence,  high  intelligence, 
and  great  culture,  but  it  will  have  time  for  the  aes 
thetic  and  artistic  side  of  human  affairs.  Under 
these  influences  every  farm  will  become  a  beautiful 
country  home,  provided  with  every  comfort,  every 
convenience,  every  rational  luxury, — in  close  touch 
with  the  world,  yet  happily  apart  from  it. 

Wisconsin  has  been  a  pioneer  in  this  advancement 
of  American  agriculture.  Many  of  the  distinguished 
leaders  are  here  tonight.  May  their  valued  lives  be 


Agriculture  and  Co-operation  283 

spared  yet  many  years  to  us  to  see  the  full  measure 
of  their  great  service  to  this  noble  industry  and  the 
fruition  of  our  highest  hopes  for  its  future. 

•Address,  Farmers'  Institute,  Oconomowoc, 

Wisconsin,  March  19,  1902. 

The  Farmer  the  Nation's  Hope 

Nearly  one-half  of  all  the  people  of  this  country 
are  engaged  in  and  directly  dependent  upon  agri 
culture.  The  vital  forces  of  every  other  business, 
I  care  not  what  its  character,  are  drawn  from  and 
nourished  by  it.  From  the  standpoint  of  economics 
purely  and  upon  the  strictest  business  principles 
the  interests  of  agriculture  are  the  interests  of  this 
Government.  No  other  pursuit  so  universally  and 
profoundly  concerns  every  other  citizen  of  the  Re 
public — no  other  calling  known  to  civilized  man, 
where  so  entirely  and  completely  the  interests  of 
one  is  the  interest  of  all. 

There  are  other  considerations  which  are  worthy 
the  thought  of  those  charged  in  part  with  the  duties 
of  government.  Favored  by  the  character  of  our 
institutions,  almost  all  of  the  farm  land  in  this 
country  is  held  and  owned  by  men  who  cultivate  it. 
Ownership  of  soil  means  ownership  of  home,  and 
I  tell  you  that  government  whose  people  build  and 
own  their  own  homes  lays  broadest  and  deepest  its 
foundations  and  bargains  most  surely  and  happily 
with  time.  Such  homes,  no  matter  how  humble,  are 
pledges  of  the  perpetuity  of  the  nation.  Our  little 
modest  homes  scattered  over  this  land,  reared  by 
those  who  live  in  them,  are  the  pillars  of  strength 


284  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

which  lift  this  government  above  other  nations  of 
the  civilized  world.  And  it  is  well  for  us  to  re 
member  here  as  elsewhere  that  the  poorest  home  is 
just  as  great  an  element  of  strength  to  the  state  as 
the  costliest  mansion.  To  the  state,  to  the  govern 
ment,  there  is  no  difference. 

Now,  sir,  these  rural  homes  are  built  on  small 
margins,  they  are  maintained  only  by  industry  and 
frugality.  Every  factor  of  strength  and  support 
about  them  is  important  to  comfortable,  decent  ex 
istence. 

Sir,  I  know  something  of  life  upon  the  farm ;  I 
know  the  value  of  little  things  in  the  economical 
system,  in  the  sparing,  cautious  management  prac 
ticed  there.  I  know  how  the  small  things  are  used 
to  fill  up  and  round  out  the  seasons  as  they  go. 
There  is  little  that  can  be  safely  spared. 

I  know,  sir,  the  vital,  the  absolutely  vital  im 
portance  of  the  dairy  to  the  maintenance  not  only 
of  the  home  comforts,  the  sweetening  of  the  home 
life,  but  its  great  value  to  that  which  makes  the 
home  possible — the  farm  itself.  It  is  the  one  im 
portant  element  in  almost  the  only  system  which 
can  be  adopted  upon  the  small  farms  to  sustain  their 
soil  and  preserve  their  producing  properties.  To 
foreclose  the  farmer  from  this  essential  branch  of 
his  business  is  to  greatly  narrow  the  limits  of  his 
industry,  lessen  the  number  of  farm  products,  and 
force  overproduction  in  the  few  produced  with  all 
its  consequent  disasters  to  commerce  and  trade. 
Speech  on  Bill  to  Tax  Oleomargarine,  House 

of  Representatives,  June  2,  1886. 


Agriculture  and  Co-operation  285 

Rural  Economics  Needs  Attention 

The  high  cost  of  living  in  cities  compared  with 
the  prices  received  by  farmers  for  their  products 
requires  our  immediate  attention;  we  denounce  the 
suppression  by  special  interests  in  congress  of  the 
investigation  of  the  country  life  commission,  and  we 
favor  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  conditions  of 
country  and  city  life,  as  an  aid  in  bringing  the  wage- 
earner  and  farmer  closer  together,  eliminating  the 
wastes  of  distribution,  promoting  co-operative  sell- 
irg,  buying,  storage,  and  warehousing,  co-operative 
credit  and  knowledge  of  co-operative  methods,  col 
lective  bargaining  and  arbitration  between  employ 
ers  and  employees,  and  the  encouragement  of  the 
ownership  of  homes  by  wage-earners  and  farmers. 
Wisconsin  Republican  Platform,  1910. 

Good  Roads  for  Wisconsin  Farmers 

I  am  in  hearty  accord  with  all  properly  directed 
movements  to  provide  good  roads,  not  only  to  the 
people  of  Wisconsin,  but  to  the  people  of  the  entire 
country.  As  governor  of  Wisconsin  and  as  United 
States  senator,  I  have  aided  in  the  enactment  of 
legislation  to  secure  good  highways. 

However,  I  believe  that  plans  for  highway  con 
struction  should  be  so  perfected  as  to  secure  to  the 
people  who  pay  the  taxes  a  dollar's  worth  of  road 
value  for  every  dollar  expended  upon  highways. 
We  want  good  highways  not  only  in  name  but  in 
fact.  Wisconsin  roads  should  be  constructed  scien 
tifically  and  economically.  The  initial  cost  of  a 
road  is  no  guarantee  of  its  value.  The  road,  the 


286  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

first  cost  of  which  is  the  least,  may  ultimately  prove 
most  expensive  to  the  taxpayer. 

There  has  been  criticism  of  the  highway  taxes  in 
Wisconsin.  Some  of  it  was  justified,  because  of 
the  character  of  the  roads  built  in  some  of  the  com 
munities.  Some  of  this  criticism  was  also  justified 
because  of  the  law  which  permitted  a  few  men  of 
large  wealth  who  contributed  a  portion  of  the  cost, 
to  force  road  taxes  onto  a  community  unable  or 
unwilling  to  bear  such  taxation. 

The  Good  Roads  Association  of  Wisconsin  in 
promoting  a  better  understanding  of  the  value  of 
scientifically  constructed  and  co-related  highways 
can  supplement  and  aid  the  splendid  \\ork  of  the 
Wisconsin  Highway  Commission. 

Such  a  service  will  be  a  real  public  service.  It 
will  build  into  the  life  of  the  state,  highways  of  a 
lasting  character  and  tend  constantly  to  maintain 
better  and  higher  standards  of  integrity  in  all  pub 
lic  work. 

It  will  be  many  years  before  Wisconsin  has  a 
complete  and  reasonably  perfect  system  of  high 
ways.  Your  program  of  state  trunk  roads  north 
and  south  and  east  and  west  is  based  on  sound, 
economic  principles.  Such  roads  would  materially 
aid  the  farmers  and  many  of  the  small  towns  of  the 
state.  The  beautiful  lakes  of  the  state  would  be 
made  more  accessible  to  the  centers  of  population. 
Such  improvements  of  our  highways  would  bring 
thousands  of  tourists  from  other  states,  make  better 
markets  right  at  hand  for  the  products  of  the  dairy 
and  farm.  They  will  be  followed  by  a  greater  incentive 
for  the  intensive  cultivation  of  our  land.  This  is 


Agriculture  and  Co-operation  28y 

but  one  aspect  of  the  economic  value  of  good  roads 
to  the  farmer.  Another  more  general  and  far  reach 
ing  lies  in  the  better  facilities  thus  afforded  the 
farmer  to  reach  all  of  his  markets.  The  more  grain 
or  produce  the  farmers  can  haul  at  a  single  load,  the 
greater  the  return  per  load.  This  not  only  benefits 
the  farmer,  but  it  also  will  benefit  the  residents  of 
our  cities. 

I  hope  the  good  roads  problem  of  our  state  will 
be  worked  out  scientifically  so  as  to  secure  the  max 
imum  of  benefits  to  the  state,  to  distribute  these 
benefits  equitably  over  the  state  and 'so  that  the 
financial  burden  may  not  fall  too  heavily  in  any  one 
year  or  upon  any  one  community.  Our  roads 
should  be  built  for  all  time  and  the  work  should  be 
carried  forward  on  plans  satisfactory  to  the  tax 
payers  and  the  people. 

La  Folletie's  Magazine,  August,  1916. 

Why  the  Farmers  are  Organizing 

Why,  Senators,  are  you  not  able  to  see?  Is  there 
nothing  that  can  arouse  the  statesmanship  of  this 
day  from  its  lethargy?  Can  you  not  interpret  this 
wonderful  movement  that  is  sweeping  over  the 
Middle  West  and  going  on  to  the  Pacific  and  throw 
ing  out  its  feelers  even  into  the  New  England  terri 
tory — the  movement  of  the  Farmers'  National  Non- 
partisan  League?  What  is  the  cause?  It  is  organ 
ized  because  there  is  a  belief  among  the  people  that 
there  is  a  power  that  puts  them  at  a  disadvantage 
by  controlling  the  market  price  of  what  they  pro 
duce  and  the  market  price  of  everything  they  buy. 
They  have  appealed  to  the  Democratic  Party  and 


288  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

they  have  appealed  to  the  Republican  Party,  and 
they  have  appealed  in  vain,  for  relief;  for  legisla 
tion  to  break  the  power  that  took  out  of  their  toil 
just  what  tribute  it  pleased;  a  power  that  forced 
them  when  they  marketed  their  grain  to  take  a  low 
price  and  then  took  that  grain  into  the  great  storage 
elevators  and  sold  it  to  the  consumer  at  a  high 
price. 

The  great  body  of  the  agriculturists  of  this  coun 
try  decided  that  it  had  stood  that  thing  long  enough. 
They  have  protested ;  they  have  appealed  to  the  va 
rious  parties.  They  have  gone  before  the  various 
national  committeemen ;  they  have  asked  for  this 
plank  and  that  plank  in  the  national  platforms,  but 
they  have  obtained  no  relief.  Decade  after  decade 
has  passed.  They  sweated  to  produce  the  crop ; 
they  sent  it  to  market ;  they  have  taken  out  of  it 
now  enough  to  pay  for  the  production  and  to  carry 
the  interest  charges  upon  the  capital  invested  in  the 
farms.  They  have  bought  the  supplies  controlled 
by  the  Harvester  Trust,  the  Beef  Trust,  the  Fer 
tilizer  Trust,  the  Woolen  Trust,  and  the  Cotton 
Trust.  The  price  of  everything  they  had  to  buy 
has  been  controlled  arbitrarily  by  selfish  interests 
and  is  no  longer  controlled  by  competition. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Aug.  29,  1919. 


XXIII 
EDUCATION   AND    PUBLIC   SERVICE 


The  District  School 

HEN  the  educators  of  the  state  agree 
on  the  proposition  that  the  district 
schools  are  inadequate  for  their  work, 
and  are  steadily  losing  in  usefulness 
and  depreciating  in  popular  favor; 
\\hen  this  judgment  is  confirmed  by  a  decreasing 
attendance  upon  the  district  school  and  correspond 
ing  removal  to  the  cities  for  better  common  school 
advantages ;  when  the  best  authorities  give  assur 
ance  that  "for  every  hundred  pupils  now  attending 
district  school  only  one  pupil  reaches  a  high  school," 
— then  it  must  indeed  be  time  to  pause  in  praise 
of  our  colleges  and  city  schools  long  enough  to  em 
phasize  the  necessity  of  more  generous  support  and 
of  more  successful  supervision  for  the  long  neg 
lected  country  schools. 

Wisconsin  is  an  agricultural  state.  With  compar 
atively  fewr  exceptions  her  cities  are  only  centers  of 
farm  prosperity.  The  products  of  cultivated  soil, 
always  the  most  important  factor  in  the  develop 
ment  of  the  commonwealth,  will  gain  rapidly  in 
importance  through  the  acquirement  by  farmers  of 
the  vast  territory  in  the  northern  half  of  the  state, 
following  the  clearing  of  the  forests.  Nowhere 
does  education  bring  dividends  more  regularly  than 


2go  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

upon  the  farm.  Nowhere  is  lack  of  it  more  extrava 
gant  in  loss.  The  ignorant  city  laborer  wastes  only 
his  own  time  and  energy.  An  incompetent  farmer 
may  squander  the  productive  power  of  the  land 
which  he  occupies  in  addition  to  his  misapplied  ef 
forts  and  labor.  The  valuable  results  of  education 
in  farm  work  are  shown  in  the  awrakened  interest 
and  progressive  methods  which  have  come  from  the 
University  dairy  school  and  Agricultural  college. 
I  believe  that  this  branch  of  educational  work  should 
be  broadened  in  scope  by  adding  elementary  train 
ing  in  agricultural  knowledge  to  the  course  of  study 
in  district  schools. 

Message  to  Legislature,  1901. 

The  Country  Schools 

For  many  years  to  come  the  district  school  must 
furnish  education  for  the  great  mass  of  boys  and 
girls  born  upon  the  farms.  Probably  no  less  than 
75  per  cent  of  these  will  never  attend  any  other 
school.  How  vital  it  is,  then,  that  wre  should  make 
these  long-neglected  schools  our  first  care  and  be 
stow  upon  them  such  attention  and  such  aid  as  will 
insure  the  results  so  essential  to  agricultural  pros 
perity  and  the  welfare  of  the  state. 

Address,  Annual  Meeting  State  Board 

of  Agriculture,  1901. 

Public  Service 

Our  state  and  our  university  are  scarcely  more 
than  half  a  century  old.  Each  is  where  it  can  be 
gin  to  get  a  proper  perspective  of  the  other.  The 
state  was  not  created  for  the  university,  the  univer- 


Education  and  Public  Service  291 

sity  exists  for  the  state.  We,  the  children  of  this 
commonwealth,  ought  now  to  begin  to  appreciate  the 
richness  of  our  heritage  and  the  full  measure  of  our 
responsibility.  It  rests  with  us  to  do  much  to  per 
petuate  it  in  all  the  plenitude  of  its  power  and 
greatness  among  the  states  of  the  union. 

That  university  man  or  woman  wrho  fails,  after 
leaving  these  portals,  to  render  some  distinct  and 
valuable  service  to  the  state  is  a  pensioner  upon  the 
state's  bounty.  The  opportunity  waits  for  all. 
Scarcely  a  day  passes  but  brings  with  it  the  occa 
sion  and  opens  the  way.  It  may  require  sacrifice. 
It  may  ask  courage.  It  may  provoke  criticism. 
But  the  state  has  prepared  us  for  this  work,  has  de 
veloped  our  powers,  enlarged  our  capacity  for  use 
fulness  in  the  world,  and  we  are  in  honor  bound, 
whenever  we  can,  to  strike  the  blow  and  say  the 
word  which  makes  the  state  stronger,  promotes  a 
better  public  policy,  and  insures  a  better  govern 
ment. 

Alumni  Banquet,  University,  1901. 

On  Elementary  Education 

It  cannot  be  complained  that  the  state  has  been 
negligent  in  the  matter  of  financial  aid  to  the  com 
mon  schools,  but  the  official  statistics  of  school  at 
tendance  reveal  the  necessity  of  something  more 
than  money  expenditure  if  the  district  school  is  to 
retain  a  degree  of  usefulness  at  all  commensurate 
with  its  cost.  Figures  taken  from  the  reports  in  the 
department  of  the  state  superintendent  show  that 
during  the  last  six  years  with  a  steady,  almost  uni 
form,  increase  in  the  number  of  persons  of  school 


292  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

age  in  the  state,  there  has  been  in  the  same  period 
an  equally  steady  decrease  in  the  percentage  or 
proportionate  number  of  such  persons  enrolled  in 
the  public  schools,  without  corresponding  increase 
in  the  number  of  persons  of  school  age  attending 
private  schools.  The  same  statistics  show  that 
nearly  one-half  of  the  total  number  were  enrolled  in 
the  country,  village  and  small  city  schools,  while 
the"  average  daily  attendance  approximates  less  than 
sixty  per  cent  of  the  enrollment.  The  attendance  in 
many  of  the  villages  and  small  cities  is  comparatively 
high,  and  the  inevitable  conclusion  is  that  the 
average  daily  attendance  in  the  country  schools  is 
probably  not  more  than  fifty  per  cent  of  the  total 
enrollment.  The  teaching  force,  accommodations, 
and  equipment  provided,  were  ample  for  a  full  at 
tendance  every  day.  Wholly  disregarding  the  evil 
effect  of  such  absences  upon  teachers  and  fellow 
pupils  in  a  progressive  school,  the  mere  financial 
loss  is  worthy  your  most  careful  consideration. 
When  approximately  four  million  dollars  is  ex 
pended  for  school  purposes  throughout  the  state, 
outside  the  cities  under  city  superintendents,  a  clear 
waste  of  nearly  forty  per  cent  of  that  expenditure 
through  absence  of  pupils,  who  by  right  and  by  law 
should  be  in  school,  is  not  a  matter  to  be  neglected. 
II  is  pointed  out  by  educators  that  this  sum  would 
much  more  than  provide  for  comfortab1e  transporta 
tion  of  all  children  in  country  districts  to  well  built, 
well  graded  and  well  taught  central  schools.  The  legis 
lature  of  1901  enacted  a  law  to  provide  for  transporta 
tion  of  pupils  in  rural  districts,  and  I  commend  to  your 
attention  the  need  of  effort  to  improve  these  laws  and 


Education  and  Public  Service  293 

make  them  more  effective  in  promoting  the  excellent 
work  for  which  they  were  originally  designed.     The 
certain  result  will  be  larger  attendance  at  the  common 
schools  with  less  expense  to  the  commonwealth. 
Message  to  Legislature,  1903. 

Obligations  of  Citizenship 

The  state  welcomes  the  ever  increasing  tendency 
to  make  the  university  minister  in  a  direct  and  prac 
tical  way  to  the  material  interests  of  the  state. 
Agriculture,  mining,  manufacturing  and  commerce 
are  already  turning  here  for  direct  practical  aid. 
On  this  material  basis  alone  the  university  is  pay 
ing  back  to  the  state  an  hundred  fold  every  dollar 
appropriated  to  its  support. 

Standing  here  at  the  close  of  the  first  half  cen 
tury,  we  turn  to  meet  the  increasing  responsibilities 
of  the  coming  years.  It  is  not  enough  that  this  uni 
versity  shall  zealously  advance  learning,  or  that  it 
shall  become  a  great  store-house  of  knowledge  into 
which  is  gathered  the  accumulating  fruits  of  re 
search  and  all  of  the  world's  best  culture,  or  that  it 
shall  maintain  the  highest  standards  of  scholarship 
and  develop  every  latent  talent — all  these  are  essen 
tial — but  the  state  demands  more  than  all  these. 
The  state  asks  that  you  give  back  to  it  men  and 
women  strong  in  honesty  and  integrity  of  character, 
in  each  of  whom  there  is  deeply  planted  the  obliga 
tion  of  allegiance  to  the  state.  That  obligation 
should  meet  them  as  they  cross  that  threshold  of 
this  institution  and  go  in  and  out  with  them  day  by 
day  until  it  is  a  conviction  as  strong  as  life. 


2Q4  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

That  obligation  cannot  be  discharged  by  the  pas 
sive  performance  of  the  merely  normal  duties  of 
citizenship.  Upon  every  citizen  rests  the  obligation 
to  serve  the  state  in  civil  life  as  the  soldier  serves 
the  country  in  war.  To  this  high  duty  the  children 
of  the  university  are  specially  called.  The  state  has 
prepared  you  for  this  work  and  you  are  honor- 
bound  to  strike  the  blow  or  say  the  word  which  will 
make  the  state  stronger,  promote  a  better  public 
policy,  insure  a  better  government.  To  be  silent 
when  you  should  speak,  to  dodge,  or  evade  or  skulk, 
is  to  play  the  coward.  To  compromise  with  the  op 
ponents  of  just  equal  government  for  personal  ad 
vantage  or  business  gain  is  to  betray  the  state  and 
make  barter  of  citizenship. 

Fear  has  been  expressed  by  endowed  universities 
that  state  universities  would  be  affected  by  politics. 
For  fifty  years  politicians  have  come  and  gone  in 
the  state  of  Wisconsin,  but  the  lamp  of  learning  has 
never  been  trimmed,  or  turned  down,  or  put  out. 
The  spirit  of  our  university  has  continued  to  be 
democratic.  In  a  state  university  every  branch  of 
learning  stands  on  an  equality.  The  state  welcomes 
the  efforts  of  the  university  to  assist  to  the  practi 
cal  advantage  of  the  people  of  the  state.  Every 
dollar  invested  in  our  university  is  returned  in 
practical  benefit  to  the  people  of  the  state  one  hun 
dred  fold.  The  state  asks  that  you  give  back  to  it 
men  and  women  strong  in  honesty  and  moral  char 
acter,  who  shall  appreciate  the  obligation  they  owe 
of  loyalty  to  the  state. 

Address,  Inauguration  of  President 

Van  Rise,  June  7,   1904. 


Education  and  Public  Service  295 

Address  to  University  Alumni 

Rich  in  soil  and  scenery,  with  lakes  and  rivers 
unrivaled,  rich  in  forests  and  mines  and  manufac 
tures  and  the  natural  conditions  for  a  remarkably  di 
versified  agriculture,  Wisconsin  has  the  attributes 
and  elements  which  make  for  the  highest  material 
rank  and  power  among  her  sister  states.  But  the 
greatness  of  a  state  does  not  lie  in  its  area,  its  com 
merce,  its  bonds  and  stocks  and  wealth  and  ac 
cumulated  splendors.  It  lies  back  of  all  these  in 
the  character  of  her  citizenship.  It  was  just  here 
that  Wisconsin  was  most  fortunate  from  the  begin 
ning.  Our  tempting  forests  and  prairies  and  mines 
were  opened  to  occupation  and  development  at  that 
period  in  the  history  of  our  country  when  the  east 
could  still  furnish  to  the  west,  choice  representatives 
of  the  rugged,  original  natures  combined  of  puritan 
severity  and  quaint  Yankee  shredwness.  So  that  in 
our  population  today  runs  the  blood  of  the  sturdy 
pioneer  from  New  England,  Maine,  New  York, 
Ohio  and  Indiana  commingled  with  that  of  the 
hardy  emigrant  from  Europe,  who  came  \vhen  the 
conditions  abroad  were  likewise  timely  for  giving  to 
us  the  strongest  types  which  the  best  foreign  coun 
tries  could  possibly  furnish. 

I  do  not  know  to  what  extent  in  this  new  century 
the  obligation  of  the  student  to  the  state  is  made 
part  of  the  daily  thought  of  university  life,  but  I 
well  remember  when  it  found  expression  in  every 
convocation  and  was  heard  from  time  to  time  in 
every  classroom.  It  may  be  that  in  those  dear  old 
days,  when  the  institution  was  poor  and  the  support 


296  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

feeble,  the  appropriation  looked  larger,  the  oppor 
tunities  offered  more  precious,  and  the  obligation 
more  exacting.  But  I  do  know  that  it  was  always 
present  with  us  then  and  in  some  wray  we  were 
made  to  feel,  that  as  our  Alma  Mater  was  to  us,  so 
was  the  state  to  her;  that  we  were  within  the  bond, 
and  as  the  state  nourished  and  sustained  the  uni 
versity,  so  should  we  ever  serve  and  defend  the  state. 

With  the  marvelous  growth  of  the  university, 
men  and  women  go  out  from  here  each  year  into 
every  section  and  corner  of  the  commonwealth. 
They  should  bear  with  them  as  an  abiding  obliga 
tion,  the  thought  that  their  first  and  foremost  duty 
is  to  pay  back  in  earnest,  persistent,  conscientious 
effort  for  good  government,  the  debt  due  to  the 
state. 

I  would  not  disparage  scholarship,  but  venture  to 
say  that  before  all  things,  the  university  owes  it  to 
the  state  to  give  it  good  citizens — men  and  women 
who  will  fight  the  battles  of  the  state,  against  all 
the  combination  of  evil.  I  do  say  that  the  student 
should  never  be  permitted  to  forget  while  here  that 
he  is  primarily  training  for  the  duties  of  citizen 
ship  ;  and  when  he  goes  out,  whatever  may  be  his 
occupation  or  profession,  it  should  be  as  one  who 
has  enlisted  for  life  in  the  service  of  the  state. 

When  this  settles  down  as  a  conviction  into  the 
mind  of  every  citizen  and  taxpayer,  how  direct  will 
become  his  interest  in  the  university !  It  will  be  his 
institution  then,  doing  his  service,  equipping  its 
graduates  to  protect  his  personal  and  property 
rights,  as  the  advocates  of  clean  and  honest  service 


Education  and  Public  Service  297 

in  municipal  and  state  government.  When  this 
mighty  power  for  the  general  good  is  once  fully  felt 
throughout  the  state,  when  this  sleeping  giant  is 
once  awakened  to  his  obligations  and  conscious  of 
his  strength,  the  university  will  not  longer  come 
cringing  past  an  impudent  and  arrogant  lobby,  as 
a  suppliant  to  the  state  for  an  appropriation  that  it 
may  live  and  meet  the  increasing  demands  upon  it; 
but,  erect  with  a  new  dignity  and  a  new  power, 
knowing  the  value  of  its  service  to  the  citizen  and 
tc  the  state  wrhich  supports  it,  secure  in  the  affec 
tions  of  the  whole  people,  receive  their  free  offering 
to  enlarge  and  expand  its  widening  field  of  useful 
ness  to  the  state. 

With  the  university  as  a  great  recruiting  station, 
the  ranks  of  patriotic  citizenship  shall  ever  swell 
with  increasing  numbers,  armed  for  the  state's  best 
service.  O,  you,  wrho  stand  ready  for  the  work  to 
day,  are  you  fully  conscious  of  your  duty  and  your 
opportunity?  Not  since  the  days  of  the  sixties  have 
greater  issues  called  for  truer  men.  Upon  you  the 
state  has  bestowed  the  best  training  which  fifty 
years  of  fostering  care  could  develop.  You  go  forth 
in  her  best  armor  with  sword  and  sheaf  upon  which 
she  has  wrought  with  infinite  pains  for  half  a  cen 
tury.  She  is  waiting  for  you  in  every  community ; 
she  needs  every  arm.  Strike  always  for  the  state 
and  you  will  strike  for  the  right.  So  shall  the  state 
growr  stronger  and  stronger,  so  shall  great  and 
greater  honor  come  to  our  university. 

Address,  University  Alumni  Dinner, 

June  19,  1901. 


298  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

To  High  School  Pupils 

It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  meet  you  for  a  few  min 
utes  this  morning  and  give  you  a  greeting.  I  con 
gratulate  you  on  behalf  of  the  state  for  the  work 
you  are  doing  in  your  high  school.  It  is  a  matter 
of  pride  to  me  to  look  over  this  splendid  assembly 
this  morning  and  to  have  impressed  upon  me  as 
you  impress  me,  the  splendid  work  the  state  of  Wis 
consin  is  accomplishing  through  its  school  system. 
I  am  glad  to  be  here  personally  for  another  reason. 
My  earliest  recollection  of  school  work  in  its  broad 
sense  is  associated  with  your  principal  (M.  S.  Fraw- 
ley).  My  mind  goes  back  to  my  boyhood  days  when  he 
was  county  superintendent  of  that  portion  of  Dane 
County  in  which  I  lived.  Along  through  the  years 
I  have  watched  his  career  and  have  ever  admired 
him,  and  I  congratulate  you  on  having  at  the  head 
of  this  school  so  competent,  earnest  and  honest  a  man 
a:;  director  of  your  work.  May  he  long  continue  in 
the  work  here  unless  it  be  the  fortune  of  the  state 
to  see  him  called  to  some  higher  place. 

I  am  glad  to  be  here  for  another  reason.  I  like 
to  look  into  the  faces  of  the  youth  and  to  light  again 
my  own  enthusiasm  from  that  which  is  down  in  the 
minds  of  the  young.  You  will  go  out  from  here  in 
a  little  while  when  you  have  completed  your  work. 
You  will  go  out  with  a  well  rounded  education  pre 
pared  to  take  up  the  work  in  the  higher  schools  of 
Wisconsin  and  to  meet  the  tria1s  of  life,  for  they 
will  come  to  you,  come  to  each  one  of  you.  You 
have  possibly  been  told  so  many  times  that  it  has 
become  trite  and  tiresome  to  you  that  these  are 
vour  best  days. 


Education  and  Public  Service  299 

I  do  wish  there  was  some  way  I  could  make  you 
realize  that  the  best  of  life  is  today.  Get  all  the 
good,  all  the  pleasure  out  of  it  that  you  can,  because 
in  a  little  while  you  will  have  to  meet  the  serious 
side  of  life.  Into  the  life  of  each  of  you  there  will 
come  trouble.  You  will  have  your  sorrows,  your 
griefs,  your  disappointments  and  I  am  sure  that  the 
discipline  that  you  are  getting  here  now  will  help 
you  to  meet  it,  because  I  am  confident  that  under 
this  leadership  you  are  getting  a  training  in  some 
thing  more  than  books.  Book  knowledge  is  import 
ant.  You  must  have  it.  You  cannot  get  too  much 
of  it,  but  I  am  sure  that  the  importance  of  character 
building  is  necessary  in  everything  that  you  do. 
It  is  the  highest  essential  of  your  life  ;  you  cannot 
accomplish  anything  without  it,  that  is  anything 
worth  having,  that  will  endure,  and  I  say  to  you 
that  character  building  is  the  most  important  part 
of  education. 

If  it  was  a  question  of  never  opening  the  books, 
ci  of  having  the  broad  education  closed  to  you,  I 
should  feel  that  it  were  better  to  have  training  of 
acts  than  the  training  of  books.  But  if  you  have 
them  both  and  I  am  sure  that  you  carry  into  each 
day's  work  that  spirit  of  honesty  which  is  building 
up  the  best  side  of  your  life,  you  cannot  cheat  in  a 
lesson  or  examination,  for  it  leaves  a  scar  on  your 
character.  You  cannot  do  it  without  weakening  the 
aimor  you  are  having  fitted  upon  you  now  for  the 
battle  of  life.  Everything  you  do  is  simply  putting 
another  plate,  another  rivet  in  the  armor  you  are 
wearing  when  you  go  out  to  fight  for  yourself,  your 
state  and  your  country,  and  every  time  you  are 


3OO  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

tempted  to  evade  duty  or  cheat  a  teacher  you  are 
putting  a  false  plate,  a  weak  rivet  in  that  armor. 
We  are  such  creatures  of  habit  that  the  things  we 
do  once  we  are  almost  bound  to  do  again,  and  so  I 
say  that  the  most  important  part  of  your  education 
is  in  doing  honestly  and  faithfully  the  task  of  each 
day,  in  equipping  each  one  to  meet  each  event,  each 
requirement  and  each  responsibility  throughout  life, 
and  now  let  me  say  to  you  that  I  wish  you  every 
thing  good  in  your  individual  lives  that  can  come 
to  members  of  the  human  family,  and  I  speed  you 
Godspeed  on  your  way. 

To  Eau  Claire,  Wis.,  High  School, 

October  2,  1903. 

Moral  Influence  of  a  Great  Teacher 

It  is  difficult,  indeed,  to  overestimate  the  part 
which  the  university  has  played  in  the  Wisconsin 
resolution.  For  myself  I  owe  what  I  am  and  what 
I  have  done  largely  to  the  inspiration  I  received 
while  there.  It  was  not  so  much  the  actual  course 
of  study  which  I  pursued ;  it  was  rather  the  spirit  of 
the  institution — a  high  spirit  of  earnest  endeavor,  a 
spirit  of  fresh  interest  in  newr  things,  and  beyond  all 
else,  a  sense  that  somehow  the  state  and  the  univer 
sity  were  intimately  connected,  and  that  they  should 
be  of  mutual  service. 

The  guiding  spirit  of  my  time,  and  the  man  to 
whom  Wisconsin  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  greater 
than  it  can  ever  pay  w^as  its  President,  John  Bascom. 

I  never  saw  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  but  I  should 
say  John  Bascom  was  a  man  of  much  his  type,  both 
in  appearance  and  character.  He  was  the  embodi- 


Education  and  Public  Service  301 

ment  of  moral  force,  and  moral  enthusiasm ;  and  he 
was  in  advance  of  his  time  in  feeling  the  new  social 
forces  and  in  emphasizing  the  new  social  responsi 
bilities.  His  addresses  to  students  on  Sunday  after 
noon,  together  with  his  work  in  the  class  room  were 
among  the  most  important  influences  in  my  early 
life.  It  \vas  his  teaching,  iterated  and  reiterated,  of 
the  obligation  of  both  the  university  and  the  stu 
dents  to  the  mother  state  that  may  be  said  to  have 
originated  the  Wisconsin  idea  in  education. 

He  \vas  forever  telling  us  what  the  state  was  do 
ing  for  us,  and  urging  in  return  our  obligation  not 
to  use  our  education  wholly  for  our  own  selfish 
benefit,  but  to  return  some  service  to  the  state.  That 
teaching  animated  and  inspired  hundreds  of  stu 
dents  who  sat  under  John  Bascom. 

In  those  days  \ve  did  not  so  much  get  correct  po 
litical  views,  for  there  was  then  little  teaching  of 
sociology  or  political  economy  worthy  of  the  name, 
but  we  somehow  did  get,  and  largely  from  Bascom, 
a  proper  attitude  towrard  public  affairs.  And  when 
all  is  said,  this  attitude  is  more  important  than  any 
definite  views  a  man  may  hold. 

Years  after\vard  when  I  was  governor  of  Wis 
consin  John  Bascom  came  to  visit  us  at  the  execu 
tive  residence  at  Madison,  and  I  treasure  the  words 
he  said  to  me  about  my  new  work: 

"Robert,"  he  said,  "y°u  will  doubtless  make  mis 
takes  in  judgment  as  governor,  but  never  mind  the 
political  mistakes  so  long  as  you  make  no  ethical 
mistakes." 

John  Bascom  lived  to  be  84  years  old,  dying  in 
1911  r»t  his  home  in  Williamstowrn,  Mass.  Up  to 


3O2         La   Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

the  last  his  mind  was  clear  and  his  interest  in  the 
progress  of  humanity  as  keen  as  ever.  In  his 
later  years  he  divided  his  time  between  his  garden 
and  his  books — a  serene  and  beautiful  old  age.  His 
occasional  letters  and  his  writings  wrere  always  a 
source  of  inspiration  to  me. 

In  all  my  fights  in  Wisconsin  the  university  and 
the  students  have  always  stood  firmly  behind  me. 
In  a  high  sense  the  university  has  been  the  reposi 
tory  of  progressive  ideas ;  it  has  always  enjoyed 
both  free  thought  and  free  speech.  When  the  test 
came  years  ago  the  university  met  it  boldly  where 
some  institutions  faltered  or  failed. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

Greeting  to   Dr.  John  Bascom 

I  am  accorded  the  high  honor  of  extending  to  you 
here  tonight  a  greeting  and  welcome  on  behalf  of 
the  state.  Believe,  me,  sir,  this  welcome  is  deeply 
sincere  and  heartfelt. 

Time  has  wrought  many  changes  since  that  day, 
so  well  remembered  by  us  all,  when  you  left  us 
fourteen  years  ago.  The  state  has  grown  remark 
ably  in  numbers  and  wealth  and  power.  It  has 
made  notable  progress  in  its  educational  work  and 
in  its  conduct  of  all  its  state  institutions.  While 
temporary  delays  and  disappointments  are  encount: 
ered  here  as  elsewhere,  nevertheless  through  this 
commonwealth  an  increasing  sense  of  the  responsi 
bilities  of  citizenship  is  everywhere  manifest,  and 
a  well  developed  and  powerful  public  sentiment 
must  soon  place  Wisconsin  high  among  her  sister 
states  in  all  that  pertains  to  good  government  and 


Education  and  Public  Service  303 

the  upbuilding  of  a  noble  statehood.  It  is  fitting 
that  you  should  be  reminded  of  this  progress,  be 
cause  you  have  been  the  source  and  the  inspiration 
of  so  large  a  share  of  it.  What  we  owe  to  you  in 
dividually,  each  of  us  here  tonight  realizes  more 
and  more  as  the  years  go  by.  What  this  institution 
and  this  state  owe  to  you  can  never  be  fully  meas 
ured. 

When  first  called  to  the  university,  you  came  from 
a  state  and  from  an  institution  old  in  educational 
methods ;  refined  in  educational  taste ;  fixed  in  edu 
cational  ideas ;  but  your  breadth,  your  comprehen- 
\sion,  your  wisdom,  enabled  you  to  establish  in  our 
institution  the  foundation  of  a  great  university.  You 
valued  our  raw  youth  at  its  true  worth,  and  saw  in 
it  strong  material  for  future  citizenship.  The  small 
numbers  of  students,  the  unpretentious  buildings, 
the  meagre  accommodations  did  not  bind  you  to  the 
possibilities  of  the  university.  Our  plain  attire, 
country  breeding,  imperfect  preparation,  but  earn 
est  ambition  for  education  and  enlarged  opportuni 
ties,  enlisted  your  sympathy  and  inspired  the  deep 
est  interest. 

In  the  midst  of  the  most  trying  circumstances  and 
most  discouraging  situations  you  conquered  opposi 
tion,  maintained  your  faith  in  the  institution,  and 
kept  constantly  uppermost  your  high  ideals  of  the 
mutual  relationship  of  the  state  and  the  university. 
The  obligation  of  generous  support  from  the  state 
and  the  corresponding  obligation  of  the  alumni  to 
the  state  were  daily  impressed  with  great  force  and 
clearness  upon  all  who  came  within  your  influence. 
No  student  ever  left  this  university  wrhile  you  were 


304  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

its  president,  whose  college  education  was  not  thor 
oughly  seasoned  with  this  sense  of  high  moral  obli 
gation  to  serve  the  state  upon  every  occasion  with 
all  that  was  best  in  him.  Much  of  the  enlarged 
scope,  the  harmonious  development,  the  phenom 
enal  growth  of  the  university  is  due  to  the  thorough 
inculcation  of  this  idea  upon  the  great  body  of  stu 
dents  who  passed  in  and  out  during  all  those  years. 

From  its  foundation  down  to  this  hour  there  was 
never  a  time  when. you  could  have  rendered  a  greater 
service  to  the  university  and  to  the  state  than  at  the 
critical  period  which  marked  the  beginning  of  your 
administration.  The  institution  had  just  reached 
the  most  impressionable  stage  in  its  gro\vth  and 
development  when  you  were  called  to  the  presi 
dency.  It  was  a  fortunate  day  for  the  institution 
and  for  the  future  of  the  state.  Youthful,  plastic, 
yet  full  of  lusty  vigorous  life,  the  time  was  ripe  for 
some  master  mind  to  make  an  everlasting  impres 
sion  upon  the  character  of  the  university,  and 
through  it  upon  the  commonwealth.  The  hour  was 
come,  and,  thank  God,  the  man!  For  thirteen  years 
—the  most  precious  years  of  its  life — this  state  had 
a  great  thinker,  philosopher  and  teacher  at  the  head 
of  its  highest  educational  institution. 

Whoever  shall  set  bounds,  or  fix  limitations  upon 
your  noble  work,  let  him  look  beyond  executive 
orders  and  the  presidential  office.  Let  him  look  be 
yond  the  covers  of  any  book  and  the  walls  of  any 
class  room.  He  will  readily  determine  that  every 
where,  underlying  all  work,  and  all  life  in  the  in 
stitution,  pervading  its  whole  atmosphere,  entering 
into  the  daily  thought  and  being  of  each  student, 


Education  and  Public  Service  305 

was  the  mysterious  power  with  which  you  laid  hold 
of  youth,  grounded  and  established  principles  ad 
mitting  of  no  compromise  wTith  error  and  evil, 
builded  character  of  adamant,  yet  preserved  indi 
viduality — in  short,  made  well-rounded,  full-orbed 
men  and  women,  and  finally  gave  them  back  to  the 
state  with  a  quality  of  citizenship  which  will  run 
through  all  the  generations  to  come. 

The  personality  of  a  great  teacher  is  greater  than 
his  teaching.  Many  of  the  written  propositions  of 
psychology  and  ethics  are  slipping  away  with  the 
passing  vof  the  years,  but  you  abide  with  us  forever. 
May  He,  who  orders  all  our  lives,  lengthen  your 
days  that  your  wisdom  and  your  moral  power  may 
continue  to  be  deeply  impressed  upon  all  who  are 
so  fortunate  as  to  be  near  to  you,  and  may  we  be  so 
favored  as  to  greet  you  here  again  and  again. 

University  of  Wisconsin,  June  17,  1901. 

On  Academic  Freedom  of  the  State  University 

If  there  is  any  public  institution  in  America  that 
should  be  bulwarked  and  safeguarded  against  ignor 
ant  or  covert  attack,  it  is  the  University  of  Wiscon 
sin.  This  university  is  famed  throughout  the  world 
as  "The  Greatest  State  University."  It  has  earned 
this  distinction  primarily  because  it  has  become 
truly  THE  PEOPLE'S  University— because  it  has 
"served  the  time  without  yielding  to  it,"  because  it 
stoops  not  to  propagate  the  "theories"  of  any  clique, 
class  or  interest,  but  ever  explores  the  wide  fields 
of  knowledge  and  turns  over,  disinterestedly,  to  the 
people  who  maintain  it,  the  fruits  of  its  research. 


306  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Back  in  1894,  an  enlightened,  progressive  board  of 
regents  issued  this  declaration  of  academic  free 
dom  : 

''Whatever  may  be  the  limitations  which  trammel 
enquiry  elsewhere,  we  believe  that  the  great  state 
University  of  Wisconsin  should  ever  encourage  that 
continual  and  fearless  sifting  and  winnowing  by 
which  alone  the  truth  can  be  found." 

In  devoting  itself  to  this  high  and  proper  public 
service,  it  has  kept  strictly  out  of  "politics;"  hence 
it  has  developed  no  effective  armor  to  shield  it 
from  the  highly  organized  assaults  of  small  but 
rich  and  powerful  groups  of  interests  who  fear  the 
tiuth — the  truth,  for  instance,  concerning  the  man 
ner  in  which  predatory  business  is  systematically 
and  unscrupulously  exploiting  the  people. 

During  the  past  year  the  railroad,  water  power, 
insurance  combination  came  temporarily  into  con 
trol  in  this  state.  This  plunderbund  promptly  turned 
its  weapons  against  the  people's  university  into 
a  propagandist  and  special  pleader  for  their  own 
"theories."  As  Governor  Philipp — mouthpiece  of 
this  combination — expressed  it  in  a  recent  speech  : 
"I  do  not  believe  it  wise  to  permit  the  teaching  of 
half-baked  theories  of  government  that  never  have 
been  demonstrated  to  be  a  success,  that  intimidate 
capital,  and  that  close  factory  doors."  The  program 
laid  down  by  the  special  interest  combination  is,  to 
permit  no  investigation,  no  research  nor  teaching 
that  has  not  first  been  censored  by  "capital."  A 
program  of  abject  academic  slavery! 

But    intelligent   alumni,    irrespective    of    political 
affiliation,  have  come  to  the  rescue.    A  conference 


Education  and  Public  Service  307 

was  held  at  Madison,  November  20,  to  consider 
means  of  maintaining  the  high  standard  of  the  uni 
versity  and  of  keeping  unsullied  its  academic  free 
dom  against  these  plottings.  Organized  and  sordid 
spreading  of  falsehood  must  be  met  by  organized 
and  unselfish  spreading  of  the  truth. 

Here  is  an  opportunity  for  real  service  to  the 
people  of  Wisconsin.  If  this  committee  succeeds 
in  working  out  a  plan  of  reorganization  that  will 
enable  Wisconsin  alumni  in  every  community 
quickly  and  effectively  to  register  their  convictions 
and  influence,  a  notable  chapter  will  have  been  added 
to  the  annals  of  educational  freedom.  A  wrorking 
and  democratically  organized  association  would  be 
a  medium  through  which  the  people  who  support 
the  university  could  be  kept  constantly  informed 
regarding  the  real  services  it  performs,  the  real 
spirit  of  its  teaching  and  investigation,  exactly 
what  it  costs  the  state  to  maintain  it,  and  the  mil 
lions  of  money  which  it  annually  pays  back  to  the 
taxpayers  in  better  methods  of  farming,  bigger 
crops,  higher  standards  in  the  mechanic  arts  and 
a  graduate  body  trained  for  the  best  service  which 
the  enlightened  citizen  can  render  the  state. 

So  reorganized  and  re-vitalized,  the  alumni  of 
the  university  will  furnish  the  most  intelligent 
body  of  criticism  whenever  honest,  constructive 
criticism  is  necessary,  and  a  powerfully  organized 
defense  whenever  the  best  interests  of  the  univer 
sity  are  threatened.  Such  a  live  progressive  alumni 
army  always  in  the  field  will  be  ever  ready  to  stand 
a  tower  of  strength  betwreen  the  university  and  these 


3o8  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

business  and  political  interests  that  attempt  to  cen 
ser  and  degrade  its  work. 

The  need  for  this  is  urgent.  The  step  already 
taken  by  the  alumni  is  reassuring.  Let  every  loyal 
alumnus  rally  to  this  call  to  high  service. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  November,  1915. 

Democratizing  the  Senate 

In  a  great  body  like  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  nearly  all  legislation  is  controlled  by  com 
mittees.  The  sanction  of  a  committee  goes  a  long 
way.  The  life  of  a  congressman,  a  senator,  is  a 
busy  one ;  he  is  worked  early  and  late,  and  in  some 
measure  he  must  depend  for  the  details  of  legislar 
tion  upon  the  committees  appointed  for  the  pur 
pose  of  perfecting  the  legislation.  And  as  the  busi 
ness  of  the  country  grows  and  the  subjects  of  leg 
islation  multiply,  so  committee  action  upon  bills  be 
comes  more  and  more  important.  We  spend  a  vast 
sum  of  money  to  print  a  Congressional  Record  in 
order  that  the  public  may  be  made  acquainted  writh 
the  conduct  of  their  business,  and  then  we  transact 
the  important  part  of  the  business  behind  the  locked 
doors  of  a  committee  room.  The  public  believes 
that  the  Congressional  Record  tells  the  complete 
story,  when  it  is  in  reality  only  the  final  chapter. 

Sir,  I  believe  the  time  near  at  hand  when  we  will 
change  the  practice  of  naming  the  regular  or  stand 
ing  committees  of  the  Senate. 

It  is  un-American — it  is  undemocratic.  It  has 
grown  into  an  abuse.  It  typifies  all  of  the  most 
harmful  practices  which  have  led  to  an  enlightened 


Education  and  Public  Service  309 

and  aroused  public  judgment  to  decree  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  caucus,  convention,  and  delegate  system 
of  party  nominations. 

Under  the  present  system  of  choosing  standing 
committees  of  the  United  States  Senate  a  party 
caucus  is  called.  A  chairman  is  authorized  to  ap 
point  a  committee  on  committees.  The  caucus  ad 
journs.  The  committee  on  committees  is  thereafter 
appointed  by  the  chairman  of  the  caucus.  It  pro 
ceeds  to  alter  the  committee  assignments  of  sena 
tors.  This  places  the  selection  of  the  membership 
of  the  standing  committees  completely  in  the  hands 
of  a  majority  of  the  committee. 

See  now  what  has  happened.  The  people  have 
delegated  us  to  represent  them  in  the  Senate.  The 
senate,  in  effect,  has  delegated  its  authority  to  party 
caucuses  upon  either  side.  The  party  caucus  dele 
gates  its  authority  to  a  chairman  to  select  a  com 
mittee  on  committees.  The  committee  on  commit 
tees  largely  defer  to  the  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  committees  in  the  final  decision  as  to  the  com 
mittee  assignments.  The  standing  committees  of 
the  senate,  so  selected,  Mr.  President,  determine 
the  fate  of  all  bills;  they  report,  shape,  or  suppress 
legislation  practically  at  will.  Hence  the  control  of 
legislation,  speaking  in  a  broad  sense,  has  been 
delegated  and  redelegated  until  responsibility  to  the 
public  has  been  so  weakened  that  the  public  can 
scarcely  be  said  to  be  represented  at  all.  To  make 
this  control  of  legislation  water  tight,  the  trusted 
lieutenants  assigned  to  the  chairmanship  of  the  com 
mittees  have  always  exercised  authority  (i)  to  de- 


310  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

termine  when  a  committee  should  meet  (2)  to  ap 
point  sub-committees  for  the  consideration  of  all 
bills  referred  to  the  committee  by  the  senate,  and 
(3)  to  name  the  conferees  to  be  appointed  by  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  senate.  The  action  of  com 
mittees,  sub-committees,  and  conference  committees 
on  all  bills,  is  conducted  in  executive  session — that 
is  to  say,  in  secret  session.  As  a  member  of  the 
senate  I  have  again  and  again  protested  against 
secret  action  of  congressional  committees  upon  pub 
lic  business,  and  against  the  business  of  congress 
being  taken  into  secret  party  caucuses  and  there 
disposed  of  by  party  rule.  I  have  maintained  at  all 
times  my  right  as  a  public  servant  to  discuss  in 
open  senate  and  elsewhere  publicly  all  legislative 
proceedings  whether  originating  in  the  executive 
session  of  committees  or  behind  closed  doors  of 
caucuses  and  conferences. 

The  rules  of  the  senate  must  be  so  changed  as  to 
provide  for  the  election  of  members  of  committees 
by  the  senate  pursuant  to  a  direct  primary  con 
ducted  by  each  party  organization  under  regula 
tions  prescribed  by  senate  rules. 

The  chairmen  of  the  committees  should  be  elected 
by  a  record  vote  of  the  members  of  such  committees. 

The  conferees  on  all  bills  should  be  elected  by  a 
record  vote  of  the  members  of  committees  report 
ing  such  bills. 

A  permanent  record  should  be  made  of  the  action 
of  caucuses,  standing  committees  and  conference 
committees  upon  all  matters  affecting  legislation. 


Education  and  Public  Service  311 

All  caucus  proceedings  touching  legislation  and 
the  proceedings  of  sub-committees,  committees  and 
conference  committees  should  be  open  to  the  public. 
La  Follette's  Magazine,  April  19,   1913. 

Patriotism  and  Party  Loyalty 

I  am  not  going  to  apologize  for  coming  to  New 
Jersey,  I  have  a  right  to  be  here.  Moreover,  I  am 
coming  back  here  when  you  have  a  campaign,  no 
matter  what  may  be  the  outcome  of  this  one. 

Most  men  are  ambitious,  in  different  ways.  I  am 
ambitious.  Some  want  to  make  money,  some  to  be 
famous  in  various  ways.  My  ambition  is  to  write 
my  name  with  the  thousands  who  in  this  trial  time 
of  our  country  have  enlisted  for  the  redemption  and 
restoration  of  representative  government. 

It  is  time  for  men  to  begin  to  work  together  for 
the  welfare  of  the  country.  And  I  do  not  always 
urge  democrats  to  vote  the  republican  ticket.  In 
Missouri  I  appealed  to  republicans  to  support  Folk 
for  governor.  In  these  times  there  is  something 
greater  and  better  than  simply  standing  blindly  by 
party.  Of  course,  I  know  the  regulars,  as  they  call 
themselves,  will  say :  "There's  that  arrant  dema 
gogue  advocating  bolting  the  party,"  but  that  doesn't 
\vorry  me  much.  I  appeal  to  patriotism  of  country 
rather  than  partisanship.  I  love  the  Republican 
party,  but  when  my  work  is  done,  I  would  rather 
have  written  on  the  little  stone  above  my  head: 
"He  was  a  patriot"  than  "He  was  a  Republican." 

No  one  has  any  right  to  make  war  upon  a  cor 
poration  which  receives  only  a  fair  interest  upon 
its  investment  We  can't  afford,  by  legislation,  to 


312  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

impose  upon  or  cripple  corporations  doing  a  legiti 
mate  business  along  legitimate  lines,  in  a  legitimate 
way.  We  want  the  best  transportation  we  can  get, 
and  we  ought  to  be  willing  to  pay  charges  that  will 
make  investment  in  these  enterprises  profitable.  But 
these  are  public-service  corporations.  It  is  the  duty 
of  the  state  to  stand  between  the  people  and  the  cor 
porations  and  see  exact  justice  done  to  each — that 
the  people  don't  pay  too  much  and  that  the  com 
panies  get  a  fair  return,  and  only  a  fair  return,  on 
their  investment.  That  is  what  the  "new  idea"  in 
New  Jersey  stands  for,  so  far  as  the  railroads  and 
public  utilities  are  concerned. 

Speech  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  Sept.,   1906. 

\ 

Importance  of  Character  in  Men  Elected  to  Office 

The  most  important  thing  of  all  is  to  send  honest 
men  to  Washington — men  in  this  time  of  stress  who 
want  to  serve  the  public,  and  nobody  else.  The 
abler  these  men  are,  the  better,  but  above  all  the 
people  should  see  to  it  that  their  representatives  are 
honest — not  merely  money  honest,  but  intellectually 
honest. 

If  they  have  the  highest  standards  of  integrity 
and  the  highest  ideals  of  service,  all  our  problems, 
however  complex,  will  be  easily  solved. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

The  Future  of  the  Republican  Party 

I  believed  then,  as  I  believe  now,  that  the  only 
salvation  for  the  republican  party  lies  in  purging 
itself  wholly  from  the  influence  of  financial  inter- 


Education  and  Public  Service  313 

ests.  It  is  for  this,  indeed,  that  the  group  of  men 
called  insurgents  have  been  fighting — and  it  is  this 
that  they  will  contend  for  to  the  end. 

I  here  maintain  with  all  the  force  I  possess  that 
it  is  only  as  the  republican  party  adopts  the  posi 
tion  maintained  today  by  the  progressives  that  it 
can  live  to  serve  the  country  as  a  party  organiza 
tion. 

•Autobiography,  1913. 


XXIV 
ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS 


The  Coal  Strike 

HE  real  issues  of  the  coal  strike  have 
been  obscured  by  the  campaign  of  de 
nunciation  against  the  450,000  miners 
who  laid  down  their  tools  at  midnight, 
October  31. 

No  one  will  deny  that  the  closing  of  the  mines  at 
this  time  is  deplorable. 

But  the  vital  question  is :  Who  is  responsible  for  the 
closing  of  the  mines  ? — and  the  answer  is  not  to  be 
found  in  the  extravagant  statements  of  administration 
officials  nor  in  the  parrot  phrases  of  the  press. 

The  miners  are  asking  for  a  six-hour  day,  a  five-day 
week  and  a  wage  increase  of  60  per  cent.  The  miners 
contend  that  their  present  contract,  entered  into  for 
the  period  of  the  war,  terminated  with  the  actual 
cessation  of  hostilities.  With  wages  stationary  during 
the  past  two  years,  they  declare  they  are  unable  to 
feed  and  clothe  their  families  in  the  face  of  advanced 
living  costs. 

The  operators  take  issue  with  the  miners. 

They  contend  that  the  present  contract  is  binding 
and  insist  that  it  shall  remain  in  effect  until  the  peace 
treaty  is  ratified,  formally  ending  the  war.  They  de 
clare  the  demands  of  the  miners  for  higher  pay  are 
unreasonable  and  that  the  shorter  working  day  and 


Economic  Problems  315 

week  will  curtail  production.  They  warn  the  public 
that  higher  wages  and  curtailed  production  will  mean 
increased  cost  of  coal  to  the  consumer. 

In  spite  of  the  abuse  which  has  been  heaped  upon 
the  miners,  the  truth  is  on  their  side  in  the  points  at 
issue. 

The  validity  of  the  present  wage  contract  must  re 
main  a  mooted  legal  question.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the 
fuel  administration  many  months  ago  suspended  the 
war-time  regulations  governing  fuel  prices.  The 
miners  contend,  with  some  logic,  that  if  the  war  is 
over  for  prices,  it  should  be  over  for  wages. 

Are  the  demands  of  the  miners  for  a  wage  increase 
of  60  per  cent  unreasonable  ? 

The  present  wage  scale  was  adopted  in  November, 
1917.  Since  that  time,  according  to  the  figures  of  the 
department  of  labor,  the  cost  of  living  has  increased 
by  more  than  35  per  cent.  Meanwhile,  the  miners' 
wages  have  remained  stationary. 

During  the  past  year,  by  reason  of  the  curtailment 
of  the  normal  number  of  working  days,  the  miners 
have  received  an  income  less  by  18  per  cent  than  the 
income  for  the  corresponding  period  in  1918,  although 
living  costs,  by  the  government's  figures,  had  increased 
9  per  cent  over  1918  up  to  July  i  of  the  present  year. 
'  If  the  wage  scale  agreed  upon  in  1917  was  suffi 
cient  to  enable  the  miners  to  meet  the  cost  of  living 
at  that  time,  it  is  now  at  least  35  per  cent  short  of  that 
standard. 

In  seeking  a  wage  increase  of  60  per  cent,  the  miners 
are  now  attempting  to  bring  their  incomes  up  to  the 
level  of  living  expenses  and  they  ask  a  margin  of  25 


316  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

per  cent  in  their  favor  in  order  to  meet  the  constant 
advance  in  prices  from  month  to  month.  In  view  of 
their  experience  of  the  past  year — when  incomes 
dropped  18  per  cent  and  living  costs  mounted  9  per 
cent — the  margin  asked  by  the  miners  is  not  unjus 
tified. 

The  claim  of  the  operators  that  a  shorter  working 
.day  and  week  will  curtail  production  is  unfounded. 

In  1918,  the  operators  caused  the  mines  to  be  worked 
only  70  per  cent  of  the  time  possible,  and  although 
80,000  miners  were  in  the  military  service,  the  peak 
production  of  585,000,000  tons — more  than  enough 
£oal  for  the  normal  needs  of  the  country — was  reached 
as  the  output  of  bituminous  coal  for  the  year. 

During  the  present  year,  between  January  i  and 
July  i,  the  mines  have  been  worked  but  50  per  cent 
of  the  time. 

Miner's  Rights  Taken  Away 

The  granting,  of  the  full  demands  of  the  miners  as 
to  a  six-hour  day  and  a  five-day  week  would  not,  there 
fore,  necessarily  affect  production.  It  would  have  the 
wholly  desirable  effect  of  distributing  the  work  evenly 
throughout  the  year,  which  is  the  object  the  miners 
Jiave  in  view. 

The  operators,  by  a  well-directed  propaganda  in 
the  press,  have  attempted  to  convince  the  public  that 
the  miners  are  responsible  for  precipitating  the  strike 
and  for  the  consequent  closing  of  the  coal  mines. 

The  government  has  accepted  this  view  and  has 
declared  half  a  million  workmen  violators  of  the 
law  in  leaving  their  employment. 


Economic  Problems  317 

The  true  position  of  both  sides  may  be  seen  in  the 
statements  issued  on  the  eve  of  the  strike.  The 
miners'  officers  made  the  following  statement : 

"The  mine  workers'  representatives  are  ready,  will 
ing  and  anxious  to  meet  the  coal  operators  for  the 
purpose  of  negotiating  an  agreement  and  bringing 
about  a  settlement  of  the  present  unhappy  situation. 
vThey  will  respond  at  any  time  to  a  call  for  such  a 
meeting  and  will  honestly  endeavor  to  work  out  a 
wage  agreement  upon  a  fair  and  equitable  basis." 

Thomas  T.  Brewster,  chairman  of  the  scale  commit 
tee  of  the  Mine  Operators'  Association,  made  the  fol 
lowing  statement : 

"The  operators  will  resume  negotiations  with  the 
miners  and  submit  all  disagreements  to  arbitration, 
provided  the  strike  order  be  rescinded  pending  negotia 
tions  and  the  award  of  the  arbitration  board." 

Thus  the  strike  began  November  i,  and  the  United 
States  was  left  with  a  fast  dwindling  supply  of  bitu 
minous  coal.  The  public  may  judge  who  is  respon 
sible  for  the  existing  shortage  of  coal  and  for  the 
failure  of  the  negotiations  leading  up  to  the  strike. 

The  wisdom  of  the  administration  in  using  the 
courts  and  the  military  to  break  the  strike,  is  open 
to  grave  question. 

The  right  of  workmen  to  strike  has,  up  to  the  pres 
ent  time,  been  sustained  by  the  courts.  That  this  right 
exists  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  legislation  now 
pending  is  regarded  as  necessary  to  take  that  right  away 
from  one  class  of  workmen — namely,  the  railroad  em 
ployees. 


318  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

It  is  not  within  the  province  of  the  government  to 
decide,  that  "circumstances"  justify  interference  with 
the  exercise  of  an  undoubted  legal  right. 

The  use  of  the  great  powers  of  the  federal  govern 
ment  on  the  side  of  men  whose  sinister  aims  against 
labor  have  best  been  expressed  by  Judge  Gary — him 
self  honored  by  the  administration  by  appointment 
as  a  government  delegate  to  the  president's  industrial 
conference — does  not  tend  toward  a  healthy  industrial 
situation  in  this  country. 

In  the  present  controversy,  the  attempt  to  discredit 
half  a  million  workmen,  in  order  to  protect  the  exor 
bitant  profits  of  a  handful  of  employers,  will  inevitably 
fall  of  its  own  weight. 

The  American  people  elected  President  Wilson  in 
1912,  on  the  pledge  that  he  would  lower  the  cost  of 
living. 

The  statistics  of  the  United  States  department  of 
labor  show  that  the  cost  of  living  has  increased  102 
per  cent  since  1913,  when  President  Wilson  took  office. 

After  mature  reflection,  the  American  people  will 
not  approve  of  the  use  of  the  machine  gun  and  the 
injunction  by  the  administration,  in  its  effort  to  force 
450,000  miners  to  continue  at  work  against  their  will. 

The  administration  which  habitually  fails  to  bring 
the  profiteers  to  justice,  in  violation  of  its  platform 
pledges,  and  which  shows  such  extraordinary  diligence 
in  suppressing  labor  at  the  behest  of  employers,  will, 
in  the  end,  be  discredited  by  the  American  people. 
La  Follette's  Magazine,  November,  1919. 


Economic  Problems  319 

On   Life   Insurance   Companies 

With  the  exception  of  the  corporations  which  con 
trol  the  transportation  facilities  of  a  commonwealth, 
there  is  no  class  of  corporations  more  in  need  of  care 
ful  and  economical  administration  than  those  which 
make  a  business  of  life  insurance.  It  is  the  business 
which  gathers  the  savings  of  youth  and  mature  man 
hood  to  safeguard  old  age  against  poverty,  and  to 
provide  sustenance  and  the  shelter  and  comforts  of 
home  for  the  widow  and  the  orphan.  Infirm  and  un 
provided  old  age,  and  helpless  and  unsupported  child 
hood  become  a  charge  upon  the  state. 

It  is  a  shocking  disclosure  of  the  demoralized  busi 
ness  integrity  of  the  country  when  the  admissions  of 
the  highest  officials  entrusted  with  the  savings  which 
the  people  have  invested  in  life  insurance  and  charged 
with  the  management  of  these  funds  show  habitual 
violation  of  their  trust  to  enrich  themselves  at  the 
expense  of  policy  holders.  It  ought  not  to  be  necessary 
/to  say  that  no  officer,  agent,  or  employee  of  any  insur 
ance  company  should  be  personally  interested  in  the 
purchase  or  sale  of  any  securities  of  that  company, 
or  have  any  personal  or  pecuniary  interest  in  the  mak 
ing  of  loans  of  the  funds  of  the  company.  The  disclo 
sures  of  the  investigation  of  the  New  York  legislative 
committee  have  demonstrated  that  the  policy  holders 
of  at  least  three  of  the  largest  of  the  companies  of 
the  country  have  been  systematically  plundered  by  the 
operations  of  the  officers  of  these  companies.  They 
have  not  only  voted  to  themselves  salaries  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  services  rendered,  but  this  investiga 
tion  establishes  the  personal  financial  interest  of  officers 


320  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

in  the  sale  of  securities  to  the  companies,  in  the  sale 
pf  securities  by  the  companies,  in  the  use  of  insurance 
funds  in  promoting  industrial  enterprises,  in  the  loans 
of  the  funds  of  the  companies,  in  the  commissions  paid 
for  new  business,  in  contracts  for  supplies,  in  the 
rentals  of  company  property  and  in  the  payment  of 
money  of  the  policy  holders  as  contributions  to  cam 
paign  funds  and  as  salaries  to  legislative  representa 
tives. 

It  appears  from  the  testimony  taken  before  the 
New  York  investigating  committee  that  one  of  the 
great  sources  of  evil  is  the  improper  affiliation  of  insur 
ance  companies  with  other  business  enterprises,  both 
through  the  personal  connections  of  insurance  officials 
with  such  enterprises,  and  through  the  holdings  of 
stock  and  other  voting  securities  of  industrial  and 
transportation  companies  by  insurance  companies.  A 
conservative  estimate  places  the  par  value  of  secur 
ities  owned  by  insurance  companies,  which  carry  with 
them  voting  power,  at  over  one  hundred  millions  of 
dollars.  To  the  extent  to  which  these  securities  rep 
resent  voting  power  insurance  companies,  acting 
through  their  officials,  participate  in  the  management 
of  other  business  enterprises.  This  is  beyond  the  legiti 
mate  province  of  life  insurance  companies. 

It  is  questionable  if  insurance  companies  should  in 
vest  in  securities  of  this  character  at  all,  but  if  invest 
ments  in  selected  shares  of  unquestioned  value  be 
expedient  the  voting  power  that  they  may  carry  should 
be  invested  in  a  public  official  not  connected  with  an 
insurance  company  or  any  industrial  or  transportation 
company. 

Governor's  Message,  Special  Session,    1905, 


Economic  Problems  321 

Veto  of  Police  Powers  to  Corporations 

This  bill  is  far-reaching  in  effect.  It  impinges  the 
spirit  of  the  constitution  of  the  state,  is  subversive  of 
the  fundamental  principles  of  good  government,  and 
vicious  in  principle.  It  authorizes  street  and  other 
railway  companies  doing  business  in  this  state  to  ap 
point  policemen  empowered  to  arrest  with  or  without 
warrant  any  person  who  in  their  presence  shall  com 
mit  upon  or  in  or  about  their  premises  any  offense 
against  the  laws  of  the  state,  or  of  the  ordinances 
of  any  town,  village  or  municipality,  and  clothes  them 
with  the  authority  of  sheriffs  in  regard  to  the  arrest 
or  apprehension  of  such  offenders  in  or  about  the 
premises  or  appurtenances  of  such  companies. 

Section  nine  of  article  thirteen  of  the  constitution 
clearly  prohibits  the  appointment  of  officers  entrusted 
\vith  the  exercise  of  governmental  powers  by  private 
individuals  or  corporations.  The  appointment  itself 
must  be  made  by  a  representative  body  of  the  state 
or  some  governmental  subdivision  or  officer  thereof ; 
or  the  office  must  be  filled  by  an  election.  The  legis 
lature  cannot  delegate  the  power  to  appoint  or  elect 
otherwise  than  to  public  authority.  This  is  so  even 
as  to  the  officer  exercising  only  in  the  slightest  degree 
governmental  functions.  Neither  the  private  individual 
nor  corporation  can  be  authorized  to  clothe  with  gov 
ernmental  power  or  authority  any  person  whomsoever. 
Peace  officers,  policemen  and  sheriffs  exercise  in  the 
highest  degree  the  sovereign  power  of  the  government. 
They  are  very  important  factors  in  the  administration 
of  the  criminal  law  of  the  state.  Their  duties  are 
closely  connected  with  the  subject  of  the  personal 


322  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

liberty  and  restraint  of  the  citizen.  They  are  state 
officers  in  that  they  exercise  an  important  part  of  the 
sovereign  power  of  the  state.  The  constitution  pro 
hibits  the  exercise  of  this  power  to  create  and  appoint 
its  officers  by  private  individuals  or  corporations. 
If  it  could  delegate  any  part  of  the  powers  of  govern 
ment  to  private  individuals  all  might  be  bestowed  upon 
them.  The  state  and  its  political  subdivisions  might 
be  divested  of  all  power  over  the  subject  and  would 
lead  to  conflict,  confusion,  and  anarchy.  The  police 
men  provided  for  in  this  bill  are  given  the  power  and 
authority  of  sheriffs  in  and  about  all  the  property 
designated  therein,  which  would  include  all  the  streets 
in  each  city  through  which  street  railway  companies 
run  or  operate  their  cars,  and  all  territory  adjacent 
and  appurtenant  to  their  structures,  buildings  and 
property.  If  the  legislature  have  the  power  to  clothe 
these  persons  appointed  by  street  or  other  railway  com 
panies  with  the  authority  of  sheriffs,  it  could  endow 
them  with  such  authority  as  to  constitutional  officers. 
He  must  be  elected  by  a  vote  of  the  people.  He  can 
hold  his  office  but  one  term,  and  hold  no  other  office 
during  that  term.  If  the  legislature  could  bestow  upon 
policemen  appointed  by  private  individuals  so  impor 
tant  an  authority  and  prerogative  of  the  sheriff,  it 
could  divest  him  of  all  power  and  invest  the  individual 
with  that  power  without  limitation  as  to  the  tenure 
of,  or  regard  to  his  qualifications  for,  the  office.  The 
constitution  is  a  barrier  to  the  enactment  of  this  bill 
into  law.  To  the  citizen  there  is  no  subject  of  more 
vital  importance  than  the  one  that  touches  the  restraint 
of  his  personal  liberty.  The  constitution  of  the  United 
States  as  well  as  that  of  the  state,  has  made  this  para- 


Economic  Problems  323 

mount  and  all-important.  The  fundamental  law  of 
the  land  forbids  that  the  subject  should  be  dealt  with 
lightly,  or  that  the  citizen  should  be  restrained  of  his 
liberty  except  by  due  form  of  law.  It  forbids  that 
private  or  personal  ends  or  private  or  personal  inter 
ests  should  be  a  moving  or  controlling  factor  in  com 
passing  the  arrest  of  any  person,  except  through  the 
instrumentality  and  by  the  authority  of  public  officers. 
The  machinery  of  the  criminal  code  should  not,  and 
cannot  be  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land,  be  operated, 
controlled,  or  moved  solely  by  the  interests  of  the 
private  individual  necessarily  actuated  and  influenced 
by  a  sense  of  his  own  injury  as  distinguished  from 
that  of  the  general  public.  The  power  to  arrest  cannot 
and  ought  not  to  be  delegated  to  the  appointee  of 
private  interests.  Such  appointment  would  be  subver 
sive  of  the  principles  of  representative  government. 
The  person  appointed  to  exercise  governmental  powers 
would  not  be  the  representative  of  the  state,  but  that 
alone  of  the  private  interests  from  which  he  der'ves  his 
power  and  receives  his  compensation. 

Every  person  guilty  of  a  crime  should  be  punished. 
All  should  be  protected  in  their  individual  and  prop 
erty  rights.  It  is  the  bounden  duty  of  the  state,  and 
its  political  subdivisions,  to  give  to  both  the  individual 
and  property  rights  the  highest  degree  of  protection. 
It  should  not,  were  it  permissible  under  the  constitu 
tion  or  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land,  delegate  this 
power  to  the  individual  himself.  Neither  the  state 
nor  any  political  subdivision  thereof  can,  without  the 
most  damaging  admission  of  its  weakness,  lasting  loss 
of  its  dignity,  and  grievous  wound  to  its  statehood  and 
its  government,  county,  city,  town,  and  municipality, 


324  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

farm  out  its  power  to  protect  any  or  all  within  its 
borders  from  injury  to  either  person  or  property.  If 
one  interest  may  be  empowered  to  take  into  its  own 
hands  the  independent  administration  of  any  part  of 
the  criminal  code  of  the  state,  there  is  no  reason  why 
all  interests  and  each  individual  should  not  be  so  em 
powered.  The  result  \vould  be  the  destruction  of  all 
governmental  power  and  the  substitution  therefor  of 
independent  forces  legal  in  form,  but  without  consti 
tutional  authority  in  fact. 

Veto  Message,  April  23,   1901. 

Ship  Subsidies — A  Special  Privilege 

We  are  unequivocally  opposed  to  the  granting  of 
shipping  subsidies  by  the  federal  government,  in  the 
form  of  ocean  mail  subvention  or  otherwise.  We 
hold  that  an  American  merchant  marine  cannot  be 
upbuilt  by  appropriations  from  the  tax-contributed 
treasury  of  the  people  for  the  enrichment  of  a  special 
interest. 

Republican   State  Platform,    1910. 
I 

Postal  Bank  Law 

The  postal  savings  bank  law  should  be  amended  to 
compel  the  establishment  of  postal  savings  depositories 
throughout  the  country  within  easy  reach  of  depositors, 
and  to  prevent  the  concentration  of  the  postal  savings 
in  the  large  centers  and  their  use  in  financial  manipu 
lations  by  the  great  corporate  and  banking  interests 
in  Wall  street. 

•Republican   State  Platform,    1910. 


XXV 
CONSERVATION 


Public  Rights  in  Water  Powers 

IVE  hundred  and  sixteen  laws  granting 
franchises  to  dam  navigable  streams 
within  this  state  have  been  passed  since 
the  organization  of  the  territory  of  Wis 
consin.  Formerly  many  of  these  grants 
were  for  logging  purposes.  The  great  reduction  in 
lumbering  within  the  last  few  years  has  considerably 
decreased  the  number  of  grants  made  in  aid  of  log 
ging  and  lumbering.  Notwithstanding  this  fact,  the 
demand  for  franchises  to  build  dams  across  the  navi 
gable  streams  of  the  state,  seems  to  be  increasing.  It 
is,  therefore,  clearly  manifest  that  capital  has  awak 
ened  to  the  opportunities  which  these  water  powers 
fcffer  for  permanent  investment.  It  is  certainly  desira 
ble  that  this  should  be  encouraged  in  every  proper  way. 

It  has,  heretofore,  been  the  policy  of  the  state  to 
grant  to  any  party  seeking  the  same,  the  right  to  build 
dams  across  navigable  streams  anywhere  within  the 
limits  of  the  commonwealth.  Provided  that  its  action 
does  not  conflict  with  the  action  of  congress  upon  the 
same  subject,  the  state  has  the  undoubted  authority 
to  determine  where  and  under  what  conditions  dams 
may  be  constructed  across  its  navigable  waters.  The 
only  conditions  which  it  has  attached  to  grants  of 
this  character  up  to  the  present  time,  are  the  right 


326  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

to  amend  or  repeal  the  same,  and  the  requirement  that 
fishways  shall  be  maintained  in  all  dams.  It  is  the 
law  that  the  structure  must  improve  the  navigation 
of  the  stream.  Whenever  those  applying  for  these 
franchises  have  sought  the  authority,  the  legislature 
has  freely  conferred  upon  them  the  right  to  condemn 
and  take  the  lands  of  others,  and  overflow  the  same, 
by  providing  effective  statutory  proceedings  to  that 
end. 

Probably  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  states  in  the 
union  are  so  abundantly  supplied  with  natural  water 
power  as  Wisconsin  and  no  state  in  the  middle  west 
is  comparable  to  it  in  this  respect.  More  than  one 
thousand  lakes,  widely  distributed  within  its  borders, 
form  natural  reservoirs,  furnishing  sources  of  supply 
to  the  streams  which  flow  through  every  section  of 
the  state. 

In  the  early  life  of  states  and  municipalities  fran 
chises  are  freely  granted  for  the  building  of  ferries 
and  bridges,  turnpikes,  railroads,  and  street  railways. 
Liberal  donations  of  moneys  and  lands  are  frequently 
bestowed  upon  those  receiving  the  franchises.  Eager 
to  secure  rapid  development,  little  thought  is  taken 
for  the  future,  and  no  consideration  given  to  the 
proper  restrictions  or  limitations  to  be  imposed  upon 
those  who  are  the  beneficiaries  of  these  valuable  pub 
lic  grants. 

Our  navigable  streams  and  rivers,  like  our  streets 
and  highways,  are  open  to  the  free  use  of  the  people 
of  the  state.  No  one  can  acquire  ownership  in  these 
waters.  If  the  public  through  legislation,  grants  fran 
chises,  surrendering  the  use  of  any  of  its  navigable 


Conservation  327 

waters  to  individuals  or  corporations,  it  is  entitled  to 
a  reasonable  consideration  therefor.  This  it  may  not 
choose  to  take  as  a  money  consideration,  but  the  state 
cannot  do  less  than  recognize  the  rights  of  the  public, 
in  making  reasonable  reservations  at  the  time  it  con 
fers  the  grants.  The  franchises  so  taken  in  many 
cases,  grant  rights  of  great  and  rapidly  increasing 
value.  The  vast  amount  of  power  which  these  waters 
produce  is  a  resource  of  a  public  nature,  in  the  advan 
tage  and  benefit  of  which  the  public  should  participate. 

Water  Powers  Invested  with  Public  Interest 

Modern  industrial  development  is  making  rapid 
progress.  Already  these  water  powers  are  extensively 
employed  to  generate  electricity.  The  transmission  of 
this  power  over  considerable  distances  is  successfully 
accomplished  with  little  loss.  It  will,  in  the  near 
•future,  be  more  widely  distributed  at  a  constantly 
diminishing  cost.  In  manufacturing,  in  electric  light 
ing  in  cities  and  towns  and  in  the  country,  in  operating 
street  and  interurban  cars  for  the  transportation  of 
passengers  and  freight,  and  in  furnishing  motive  power 
for  the  factory  and  the  farm,  electricity  will  eventually 
become  of  great  importance  in  the  industrial  life  of  our 
commonwealth. 

It  is,  therefore,  quite  apparent  that  these  water 
powers  are  no  longer  to  be  regarded  simply  as  of 
local  importance.  They  are  of  industrial  and  com 
mercial  interest  to  every  community  in  the  state. 
Whether  it  be  located  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  a  water  power  will,  in  time,  make  little  or  no  differ 
ence.  While  this  is  becoming  more  manifest  year  by 
year,  it  is  probably  true  that  we  do  not,  as  yet,  approxi- 


328  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

mately  estimate  the  ultimate  value  of  these  water 
powers  to  the  people  of  Wisconsin. 

It  must,  therefore,  be  apparent  that  this  subject, 
broadly  considered,  is  of  profound  interest  to  the  people 
of  this  commonwealth.  If  the  policy  of  the  state  with 
respect  to  these  franchises  ought  to  be  changed  at  all, 
it  certainly  ought  to  be  changed  now.  Reserving  the 
right  to  amend  or  repeal  is  not  enough.  When  rich 
and  powerful  companies,  availing  themselves  of  these 
grants,  acting  in  concert,  seek  to  resist  amendment  or 
repeal,  their  influence  will  prove  a  very  serious  obsta 
cle.  Economic  conditions  are  rapidly  changing  in  this 
state  and  in  the  country.  A  legislative  policy  which 
grants  franchises  without  substantial  conditions  amply 
.protecting  the  public,  and  securing  to  it  reasonable 
benefits  in  return,  is  neither  right  nor  just,  and  ought 
no  longer  to  be  tolerated.  The  capital  already  in 
vested,  industries  already  established,  may  in  a  few 
years,  find  themselves  quite  at  the  mercy  of  power 
companies  in  combined  control  of  the  water  power  of 
the  state. 

Such  investigations  as  I  have  been  able  to  make  of 
the  subject  plainly  indicate  that  many  of  the  grants 
to  construct  dams  heretofore  passed  by  the  legislature, 
have  been  secured  purely  for  speculative  purposes.  In 
such  cases  no  improvements  whatever  have  been  made. 
The  grants  have  been  held  awaiting  opportunities  to 
sell  the  same  with  large  profit  to  the  holders,  who  have 
not  invested  a  dollar  for  the  benefit  of  the  state,  or 
its  industrial  development.  It  is  obvious  that  those 
franchises  may  be  gathered  up,  and  consolidated  with 
others  which  have  been  granted  where  improvements 


Conservation  329 

have  been  made,  and  prices  advanced  until  the  state, 
municipalities,  and  the  public  will  be  compelled  to  pay 
an  exorbitant  rate  for  the  power  upon  which  we  are 
likely  tp  grow  more  and  more  dependent  as  time 
passes. 

It  is  submitted  to  your  honorable  body  that  the  time 
has  come  to  give  this  subject  the  careful  consideration 
which  its  great  importance  demands.  I  believe  that 
the  state  should  encourage  the  development  of  its  nat 
ural  resources,  including  its  water  power  system,  in  so 
far  as  it  may  properly  do  so ;  but  the  obligation  rests 
upon  those  charged  with  the  responsibility  and  clothed 
with  authority,  to  encourage  this  development  under 
such  conditions  as  will  justly  and  fairly  protect  the 
public  right  in  these  great  natural  advantages. 

Message   to   Legislature,  April    12,    1905. 

(Note:  In  this  message  Gov.  La  Follette  is  shown  to 
have  been  a  pioneer  in  the  conservation  movement, 
later  capitalized  by  so  many  public  officials  and  publi 
cists.  It  was  one  of  the  first  public  notes  sounded  on 
the  subject,  and  antedated  the  messages  of  President 
Roosevelt  by  several  years.) 

Indian  Coal  Lands 

I  believe  that  the  time  has  come,  Mr.  President, 
for  this  government  to  declare  a  policy  with  respect 
to  the  ownership  of  coal  lands  by  transportation  com 
panies  ;  or  to  state  the  proposition  more  broadly,  with 
respect  to  any  transportation  company  going  into  com 
petition  with  the  producers  who  must  ship  over  their 
lines.  You  cannot  conceive  of  a  highway  being  open 
and  free  to  all  shippers  alike  when  those  who  are  oper- 


33Q  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

ating  the  highway  are  interested  in  reducing  the  profits 
or  diminishing  the  holdings  of  competitors  who  ship 
over  their  lines  of  road. 

For  that  reason  I  have  incorporated  in  this  amend 
ment  the  proposition  that  not  only  the  railroad  com 
pany  shall  be  barred  from  acquiring  title  to  this  land, 
but  the  deeds  when  executed  shall  contain  a  provision 
against  the  officials  and  stockholders  of  the  companies 
becoming  the  owners  of  these  coal  lands. 

It  may  be  said  here,  Mr.  President,  as  it  was  said 
in  the  committee  on  Indian  affairs  when  I  offered  the 
amendment  that  if  the  railroads  want  these  lands 
they  will  get  them.  But  I  desire  to  record  here  my 
protest  against  the  doctrine  that  now  or  at  any  time 
in  the  history  of  this  country  it  shall  ever  be  said  that 
the  railroad  companies  can  secure  the  mastery  and 
control  the  ownership  of  any  of  the  natural  products 
of  this  country.  In  other  words,  to  put  it  a  little  dif 
ferently  I  believe  that  this  government,  however  it  may 
have  appeared  in  recent  years  to  the  contrary,  is 
stronger  than  any  of  its  creatures ;  that  this  govern 
ment  is  stronger  than  all  the  railroad  companies  in 
aggregation,  stronger  than  all  of  the  centralized  power 
of  this  country  represented  in  unlawful  combinations 
and  trusts. 

So,  Mr.  President,  I  venture  to  ask  senators  to  sup 
port  the  amendment  which  I  have  offered  here  and 
to  write  it  into  the  statute  books  of  the  United  States 
that  railway  companies  shall  be  common  carriers  and 
nothing  else,  and  to  so  write  it  as  to  make  it  effective. 
First  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  March  I,  1906. 


Conservation  331 

Saving  Alaska's  Resources 

The  American  people  are  waging  a  losing  fight  in 
Alaska.  On  the  one  hand  are  the  35,000  pioneers  who 
are  risking  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  the  exploration 
and  prospecting  of  its  undiscovered  resources.  On 
the  other  hand  are  the  millions  of  American  people  to 
whom  this  great  storehouse  of  natural  resources  be 
longs.  Between  them  is  the  enormous  power  of  the 
greatest  concentration  of  capital  that  the  world  has 
ever  known. 

Will  the  American  people  be  so  blind,  so  dull,  as 
to  permit  this  enormously  rich  field  to  become  the 
property  of  Morgan  and  those  allied  with  him,  and 
thus  force  all  the  great  western  country  and  the  mil 
lions  who  are  to  people  it  in  the  generations  to  come 
to  pay  such  extortionate  prices  for  coal  as  that  power 
will  certainly  exact,  or  will  the  people  of  this  country, 
who  own  Alaska,  see  to  it  that  this  great  storehouse 
of  wealth  shall  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  people, 
their  children,  and  their  children's  children,  for  all 
time?  i]^| 

The  American  people  are  the  owners  of  the  resources 
of  Alaska.  The  government  should  own  and  build 
the  transportation  facilities  for  the  same  reason  that 
a  private  corporation,  if  owning  the  resources,  would 
build  and  own  them.  The  government  itself  should 
own  and  operate  at  least  one  great  coal  mine,  to  supply 
its  naval  and  military  needs,  and  to  sell  the  surplus 
at  a  reasonable  profit,  as  a  check  against  extortion  by 
private  corporations  developing  other  mines. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  August  21,  1911. 


332  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

t 

Waste  of  Public  Domain 

Originally  the  public  domain  of  the  United  States 
amounted  in  round  numbers  to  1,400,000,000  acres.  Of 
this  amount  nearly  all  of  the  original  domain  available 
for  agriculture  and  the  greater  part  of  our  mineral 
wealth  outside  of  Alaska  have  been  disposed  of, 
amounting  in  round  numbers  to  more  than  700,000,000 
acres. 

Out  of  the  571,000,000  acres  disposed  of  to  individ 
uals  and  corporations  there  have  been  acquired  through 
the  exercise  of  the  homestead  right  only  115,000,000 
acres.  The  railroads  and  other  corporations  had  be 
stowed  upon  them  by  congressional  grants,  without 
any  return  whatever  to  the  government,  in  round  num 
bers,  123,000,000  acres. 

In  addition  to  that,  there  has  been  conferred  upon 
the  railroads  by  state  grants  lands  theretofore  granted 
by  the  federal  government  to  the  several  states,  increas 
ing  the  total  grant  to  the  railroads,  in  round  numbers  to 
190,000,000  acres  of  land — enough  to  make  the  states 
of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Iowa  and  Wis 
consin. 

And  the  government,  through  its  executive  depart 
ments,  has  sold  at  a  mere  nominal  price,  in  round  num 
ber,  182,000,000  acres. 

The  disposition  of  our  mineral  resources  especially, 
-and  until  recently  our  forests,  forms  a  shameful  chap 
ter  in  the  history  of  our  nation.  These  mineral  re 
sources  belonged  to  all  of  the  people.  In  the  early 
history  this  was  recognized  and  we  started  out  upon 
a  correct  basis.  By  an  ordinance  in  1785  the  govern 
ment  reserved  to  itself  one-third  part  of  all  gold,  silver, 


Conservation  333 

lead  and  copper  mines,  to  be  sold  or  otherwise  disposed 
of  as  congress  shall  hereafter  direct. 

But  in  1829  cupidity  and  greed  commenced  to  tri 
umph,  and  the  abandonment  of  this  policy  began.  In 
1845  congress  repealed  the  leasing  system  of  mineral 
lands.  Had  the  policy  of  leasing  been  continued  and 
applied  to  our  coal,  iron,  oil,  and  copper  lands  and 
lands  containing  precious  metals  with  suitable  provi 
sion  for  control,  the  revenue  from  that  source  alone 
would  today  be  almost  sufficient  to  defray  all  of  the 
expenses  of  our  national  government. 

And  what  is  more  important,  the  trusts  and  monop 
olies  which  now  exist  and  threaten  the  welfare  of  all 
of  our  people  would  not  have  been  possible. 

The  statute  of  1873  as  to  coal  lands  provided  for  the 
sale  of  known  coal  lands  at  "not  less  than  $10  per 
acre,"  if  more  than  fifteen  miles  from  a  complete  rail 
road,  and  "not  less  than  $20  per  acre"  for  lands  within 
fifteen  miles  of  a  comp1ete  railroad.  The  act  made  it 
perfectly  clear,  however,  that  the  land  should  be  sold 
for  its  full  value. 

This  valuable  property  was  sold  from  1873,  year 
after  year  down  to  1906  just  as  if  congress  had  written 
into  that  law  a  direction  to  the  federal  government 
that  it  must  not  charge  more  than  $10  or  more  than 
$20  an  acre  in  either  of  the  cases  defined  by  the  statute. 

Is  it  to  be  marveled  at  that  the  people  of  the  coun 
try  have  waked  up  to  a  realization  of  their  betrayal 
and  demand  some  check  upon  those  called  upon  to 
serve  them  who  serve  instead  their  own  interests  and 
that  of  others,  and  who  betray  the  public? 

Speech  at  Edivardwille,  III.,  January  5,    1912. 


334  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Conserve    Our   National   Resources 

The  Rooseveltian  epoch  in  American  history  may 
liave  many  or  few  things  to  make  it  memorable,  but 
one  alone  is  sufficient  to  give  it  place  in  history — the 
inauguration  of  the  great  movement  for  the  conserva 
tion  of  our  national  resources.  Men  of  foresight  and 
penetration  have  for  years  been  occasionally  pointing 
out  the  enormous  waste  with  which  we  are  carrying 
forward  our  wonderful  progress ;  but  we  have  never 
awakened  to  the  portentous  situation  until  now — even 
if  we  are  quite  awake  now. 

We  have  looked  upon  the  earth's  resources  as  inex 
haustible;  but  the  truth  is  that  they  are  in  process  of 
rapid  exhaustion.  We  have  felt  that  our  rivers  are 
not  needed  in  the  scheme  of  production  and  distribu 
tion;  but  we  find  that  our  railways  are  periodically 
clogged  with  a  current  of  traffic  too  great  for  them  to 
jnove,  that  we  are  handicapped  in  seeking  the  conquest 
of  foreign  markets  by  the  superior  facilities  of  nations 
which  have  improved  their  waterways,  and  that  in 
the  rivers  and  canal-routes  left  undone,  we  have  neg 
lected  one  of  our  great  national  assets,  and  one  that 
we  must  use,  or  abandon  the  interior  of  the  continent 
to  an  arrest  of  industrial  development. 

We  have  thought  our  farmers  the  best  in  the  world ; 
but  we  now  learn  that  lands  in  the  old  world  which 
have  been  farmed  since  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era  are  less  exhausted  than  fields  tilled  by  us  for  fifty 
years,  that  the  best  of  our  fertility  is  being  washed 
away  year  by  year  through  faulty  tillage,  and  that  the 
phosphate  beds  of  our  nation,  in  criminal  disregard  of 
the  growing  needs  of  our  own  soils,  are  being  mined 


Conservation  335 

and  sent  to  Europe  to  restore  her  fertility.  We  have 
thought  of  the  coal  and  iron  deposits  of  the  United 
States  as  ample  for  all  our  imaginable  future;  but 
we  now  can  see  the  end  of  all  the  available  ones  at 
the  present  increase  in  the  rate  of  mining  by  the 
present  wasteful  methods. 

In  other  words,  we  have  acted  like  tenants-at- 
sufrerance  of  a  farm,  "skinning"  it  of  its  best,  and 
spoiling  it  for  the  next  comer,  with  no  apparent 
thought  that  the  earth  is  given  in  trust  only  to  the 
living,  that  the  man  or  generation  that  robs  posterity 
is  the  most  reprehensible  of  robbers,  and  that  "the 
next  comer"  will  be  our  own  children. 

Roosevelt  and  the  fine  group  of  scientists  and 
scholars  and  engineers  who  have  been  given  a  hearing 
by  him  on  these  great  matters,  have  made  us  see  our 
faults  and  realize  our  dangers.  He  has  appealed  to 
the  national  conscience.  He  has  accepted  the  highest 
and  wisest  counsels,  instead  of  the  lowest  and  most 
sordid.  If  the  tide  of  waste  and  destruction  is  turned 
back,  and  a  better  era  ushered  in,  it  will  be  the  chief 
glory  of  the  Roosevelt  administration  to  have  set  in 
motion  the  good  work. 

La  Folletie's  Magazine,  February  6,  1909. 

Keep  Alaskan  Coal  Lands  for  People 

The  attempt  of  private  monopoly  to  steal  the  Alas 
kan  coal  fields  was  defeated  for  the  time  being  through 
the  efforts  of  a  few  courageous  officials,  whose  sacri 
fice  and  devotion  to  duty  furnish  an  example  worthy 
of  emulation  in  every  department  and  rank  of  the 
public  service.  Failing  to  secure  the  coal  fields  through 
perjury  and  fraud,  special  interests  will  exploit  them 


336  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

through  a  monopoly  of  transportation.  The  title  to 
the  coal  fields  of  Alaska  should  he  forever  retained 
by  the  government  subject  to  lease  under  proper  regu 
lation.  The  situation  of  Alaska  is  exceptional.  Trans 
portation  is  the  basis  of  control.  It  is  the  key  to  this 
vast  territory  of  treasure.  As  exceptional  conditions 
in  Panama  required  the  government  of  the  United 
States  to  own  and  operate  a  railroad  on  the  Isthmus 
in  order  to  protect  its  interests  and  the  interests  of 
shippers,  so  we  hold  that  exceptional  conditions  in 
Alaska  require  that  the  federal  government  should 
construct,  own  and  operate  the  railroads,  docks  and 
steamship  lines  necessary  to  the  opening  up  of  the 
Alaskan  coal  fields  and  other  natural  resources. 

For  Control  of  Water  Powers 

We  are  unalterably  opposed  to  the  surrender  to  the 
state  by  the  federal  government  of  its  control  over 
water  power  sites  still  a  part  of  the  national  domain. 

The  conservation  of  the  natural  resources  of  soil, 
forest,  mines  and  water  power  and  the  settlement  of 
the  uncultivated  lands  suitable  for  agriculture,  are  the 
'foundations  of  the  prosperity  of  the  state.  We  pledge 
legislation  that  shall  encourage  the  earliest  and  highest 
development  of  these  resources,  while  retaining  all  the 
rights  of  the  people  in  them.  A  general  law  should 
be  passed  outlining  a  comprehensive  plan  for  the 
development  and  operation  of  water  power  plants  and 
providing  proper  restrictions  under  which  water  power 
franchises  may  be  obtained,  to  the  end  that  all  per 
sons  holding  water  power  rights  may  be  made  subject 
to  the  same  general  law.  Private  monopoly  should  be 
controlled  by  the  leasing  of  water  power  on  limited 


Conservation  337 

permits  subject  to  regulation,  valuation  and  reasonable 
compensation.  Prompt  action  should  be  taken  to  com 
plete  our  forest  reserves  as  soon  as  practicable  and  to 
preserve  our  forests  from  destruction  by  fire. 

Republican  State  Platform,  1910. 

Giving  Away  the  Public  Wealth 

Legislation  which  has  been  permitted  to  be  de 
layed  in  conference  should  put  Congress  on  inquiry. 
In  the  closing  hours,  when  appropriation  bills  in 
volving  billions  upon  billions  of  dollars  must  be 
considered,  a  measure  like  the  pending  bill,  involv 
ing  the  disposition  of  the  great  public  domain  in 
which  is  treasured  the  coal,  the  oil,  the  gas,  and 
other  natural  resources,  is  thrust  in  here,  and  we 
are  expected  to  jam  it  through  without  time  for 
proper  consideration.  This  bill,  if  enacted,  will  dis 
pose  of  all  the  resources  that  will  furnish  heat  and 
energy  t6  the  people  of  the  United  States  for  all 
time  to  come,  for  there  is  practically  gathered  up 
within  the  four  corners  of  this  proposed  legislation 
all  that  the  people  have  left  of  the  coal,  the  oil,  and 
the  natural  gas  underlying  our  public  lands. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  March  i,  1919. 


XXVI 
EQUAL  SUFFRAGE 


The  Interests  of  Men  and  Women  are  Co-ordinate 

T  has  always  been  inherent  with  me  to 
recognize  this  co-equal  interest  of 
women.  My  widowed  mother  was  a 
woman  of  wise  judgment;  my  sisters 
were  my  best  friends  and  advisers ;  and 
in  all  the  work  of  my  public  life  my  wife  has  been 
my  constant  companion. 

I  believe  not  only  in  using  the  peculiar  executive 
abilities  of  women  in  the  state  service,  but  I  cannot 
remember  a  time  when  I  did  not  believe  in  woman 
suffrage.  The  great  economic  and  industrial  questions 
of  today  affect  women  as  directly  as  they  do  men. 
And  the  interests  of  men  and  women  are  not  antago* 
nistic  one  to  the  other,  but  mutual  and  co-ordinate. 
Co-suffrage,  like  co-education,  will  react  not  to  the 
special  privilege  of  either  men  or  women,  but  will 
result  in  a  more  enlightened,  better  balanced  citizen 
ship,  and  in  a  truer  democracy. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

Equal  Suffrage  Bound  to  Come 
Men  would  go  out  and  be  shot  to  pieces  before  they 
would  surrender  their  ballot.  It  is  their  weapon,  their 
shield,  their  only  protection  against  tyranny  and  op 
pression  in  whatever  form  it  may  find  expression  in 
our  modern  life. 

The  ballot  is  an  educator.  The  right  to  vote  stimu 
lates  interest  in  public  affairs  and  prompts  the  voter 


Equal  Suffrage  339 

to  an  intelligent  and  critical  study  of  administrations 
and  the  records  of  public  servants. 

The  state  could  not  afford  to  disfranchise  one-half 
of  its  men.  No  more  can  it  afford  to  refuse  to  enfran 
chise  its  women. 

What  the  ballot  is  to  working  men  it  will  be  to  the 
seven  or  eight  million  working  women  in  this  country, 
of  whom  Wisconsin  has  its  share. 

Women  are  tax  payers ;  they  are  in  business,  they 
are  mothers  and  teachers ;  they  have  shared  equally 
with  men  in  education. 

The  women  of  Wisconsin  are  especially  well  quali 
fied  to  vote.  They  have  long  been  interested  in  the 
struggle  for  a  more  truly  representative  government. 

Equal  Suffrage  is  bound  to  come.     It  is  a  part  of 
the  world's  evolution  in  universal  self-government. 
La  Follctte's  Magazine,  November  9,  1912. 

McGovern's  Veto  a  Blunder 

Governor  McGovern's  veto  of  the  bill  passed  by 
the  Wisconsin  legislature  submitting  to  the  referendum 
vote  in  1914  an  amendment  to  the  statute  extending 
the  right  of  suffrage  to  women,  was  a  great  surprise 
and  disappointment. 

A  similar  amendment  was  submitted  in  1912  and 
defeated  by  ninety-two  thousand  majority.  But  the 
proposed  amendment  received  more  than  one  hundred 
and  thirty-six  thousand  votes  for  its  adoption.  It  was 
a  splendid  beginning. 

Because  of  a  large  foreign  population,  traditionally 
conservative,  and  because  of  its  great  brewing  inter 
ests  and  perfect  saloon  organization,  the  Wisconsin 
campaign  for  suffrage  was  handicapped  at  the  outset 


340  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

by  a  lack  of  faith  and  enthusiasm.  Organizing  and 
conducting  a  state  campaign  was  new  work  for  the 
women  of  Wisconsin.  But  gradually  inertia  was  over 
come.  As  the  campaign  advanced  there  was  a  mani 
fest  awakening.  It  was  soon  apparent  that  the  for 
eign  element  was  open  to  conviction.  The  workers  for 
suffrage  'grew  confident.  They  became  enthusiastic. 
The  movement  gained  momentum.  Late  in  the  cam 
paign  the  federation  of  women's  clubs  endorsed  the 
proposed  amendment.  A  few  more  weeks  would  have 
made  a  great  difference  in  the  vote  for  suffrage. 

After  the  election  it  was  found  that  the  very  failure 
to  carry  the  amendment  in  Wisconsin  which  had  been 
adopted  in  California,  Oregon  and  Kansas,  had  aroused 
thousands  of  women  and  thousands  of  men,  who  had 
been  indifferent,  to  a  new  sense  of  responsibility. 

The  suffrage  leaders  realized  the  advantage  of  the 
awakened  sentiment  and  growing  confidence  of  their 
perfected  and  harmonized  forces,  and  of  the  great 
value  of  the  training  and  experience  gained  in  a  state 
wide  campaign. 

They  called  a  state  conference.  That  conference, 
composed  of  an  earnest,  intelligent,  representative  body 
of  Wisconsin  women,  deternr'ned  that  another  cam 
paign  following  promptly  would  have  cumulative  edu 
cational  power,  that  there  must  be  no  abatement  of 
interest  and  zeal,  that  to  hold  off  for  four  or  six  years 
means  loss  of  the  ground  already  gained,  that  the  next 
forward  step  was  to  secure  favorable  action  by  the 
legislature  and  to  carry  the  issue  to  the  people  at  the 
next  election. 

It  was  in  no  spirit  of  child's  play  that  the  leaders  of 
the  suffrage  movement  resolved  to  secure  the  submis- 


Equal  Suffrage  341 

sion  of  a.  referendum  vote  in  1914.  They  had  before 
them  the  example  of  the  policy  pursued  in  winning 
other  great  reforms  in  Wisconsin. 

The  governor  is  developing  a  bad  memory. 

We  lost  our  first  campaign  in  1894.  We  lost  again 
in  1896,  again  in  1898.  We  won  with  the  people  in 
1900  but  lost  in  the  legislature.  We  won  again  in  the 
election  of  1902,  and  again  we  lost  in  the  legislature. 
Finally,  we  won  with  both  the  people  and  the  legisla 
ture  in  1904. 

Where  would  Wisconsin  have  been  today  in  this  great 
era  of  progress  if  the  leaders  of  reform  had  called 
a  halt, — if  they  had  thrown  down  their  arms,  aban 
doned  the  field,  scattered  their  forces,  and  decided  to 
defer  action  until — to  quote  the  language  of  the  gov 
ernor's  veto  message — "there  is  a  chance,  at  least,  that 
the  experience  of  other  states  similar  in  many  respects 
to  our  own  may  furnish  guidance  not  available  now." 

Fight  for  Right  is  Unending 

The  states  of  Platt  and  Quay,  and  Hinky  Dink  were 
then  "similar  in  many  respects  to  our  own,"  but  in 
those  days  we  did  not  wait  for  them  to  "furnish 
guidance"  for  Wisconsin's  future.  Our  flags  were 
never  lowered.  Our  arms  were  never  stacked.  Whether 
beaten  before  the  people  or  in  the  legislature,  our 
battered  little  army  never  faltered.  \Ve  closed  ranks, 
quickened  the  pace,  and  fought  on  to  final  victory. 

There  is  no  difference  in  principle  in  pressing  the 
same  issue  before  the  people  in  successive  campaigns, 
and  in  presenting  the  same  issue  to  the  legislature 
in  successive  sessions.  Our  direct  primary,  our  equal 
ization  of  taxation,  our  railway  commission  law,  our 


342  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

control  of  public  utilities  and  other  advanced  measures, 
were  ultimately  secured  after  a  number  of  hard  fought 
campaigns.  And  they  were  successive  campaigns,  too. 
It  was  for  that  very  reason  that  they  won  so  com 
pletely.  We  not  only  struck  while  the  iron  was  hot ; 
we  made  it  hot  and  kept  it  hot  by  constant  striking. 

That  is  what  the  new  spirit  of  American  politics 
has  taught  us — if  we  will  but  learn  never  to  be  dis 
couraged,  never  to  know  defeat  in  a  good  cause. 

The  governor  urges  that  the  suffrage  issue  would 
better  be  tried  out  in  a  presidential  election.  Common 
political  experience  teaches  that  any  state  issue  re 
ceives  more  thorough  consideration  on  its  merits  in  a 
state  campaign,  than  when  subordinated  to  national 
issues  in  a  presidential  campaign.  And  even  though 
the  amendment  were  to  fail  of  adoption  in  1914,  the 
people  will  be  just  so  much  better  prepared  to  pass 
upon  it  in  1916. 

Even  the  strongest  opponents  of  the  franchise  for 
women  no  longer  question  that  it  will  come.  It  is  just 
a  matter  of  education  and  enlightenment.  Why  cut 
out  two  years  of  education,  why  forego  the  chance  to 
win  now  ?  The  reasoning  of  the  governor's  veto  is 
trivial.  The  legislature  should  pass  the  bill,  the  veto 
of  the  governor  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  June  7,  1913. 

Marching  in  a  Suffrage  Parade 

My  knowledge  of  the  great  suffrage  parade  which 
took  place  in  New  York  on  May  4,  was  gained  as  a 
participant  rather  than  as  a  spectator,  for  I  walked 
from  Eleventh  Street  to  Fifth  Avenue,  where  the  rep 
resentatives  of  the  non-suffrage  states  other  than  New 


Equal  Suffrage  343 

York  gathered,  to  Carnegie  Hall  on  the  corner  of 
Fifty-seventh  Street  and  Seventh  Avenue.  I  did, 
however,  get  a  chance  to  look  on  for  a  time  for  I  did 
not  get  into  the  hall  to  attend  the  meeting,  but  stepping 
aside  from  the  procession  found  a  place  on  the  steps 
of  a  near-by  house.  From  this  point  I  saw  the  ovation 
which  was  given  to  the  one  thousand  men  in  the  parade 
as  they  came  into  Fifty-seventh  Street  where  suffrage 
enthusiasm  was  greatest.  They  deserved  the  ovation, 
and  were  doubtless  glad  of  it,  for  while  they  had  not 
been  "guyed"  in  lower  New  York  as  were  the  eighty 
men  who  marched  last  year,  they  had  braved  no  small 
measure  of  ridicule. 

One  remarkable  thing  about  the  parade  was  that 
in  spite  of  its  size,  variously  estimated  at  from  10,000 
to  20,000  people,  it  started  on  time.  Having  found 
my  place  shortly  before  five  o'clock  when  the  proces 
sion  was  scheduled  to  leave  Washington  Square,  I 
had  settled  myself  for  a  long  wait  on  the  principle 
that  processions  never  started  on  time.  Suddenly,  a 
very  few  moments  after  the  hour  the  sound  of  music 
was  heard,  and  the  women  on  horseback  who  headed 
the  procession  came  into  view.  They  had  left  Wash 
ington  Square  on  the  moment.  They  were  fifteen 
minutes  late  in  reaching  Carnegie  Hall ;  not  their  own 
fault,  but  that  of  the  police. 

Where  uniformity  of  dress  had  been  adopted  as  it 
was  by  most  of  the  marching  clubs,  the  spectacle  was 
most  beautiful.  White  dresses  were  worn  for  the  most 
part,  and  a  regulation  hat  of  white  straw.  Yellow 
sashes  and  scarfs  were  worn  by  some  of  the  clubs, 
green  and  purple  by  others,  and  blue  by  one  of  the 
particularly  well-drilled  and  dignified  delegations  from 


344          L*  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

up-state.  But  even  where  there  was  no  uniformity 
of  dress,  it  was  an  impressive  sight,  not  only  because 
of  floating  banners  and  waving  flags  but  because  of 
the  seriousness  and  moral  fervor  of  the  marchers. 

Some  of  the  inscriptions  on  the  banners  were : 

We  prepare  children  for  the  world ;  we  ask  to  pre 
pare  the  world  for  our  children. 

More  ballots,  less  bullets. 

Women  vote  in  China,  but  are  classed  with  criminals 
and  paupers  in  New  York. 

Dr.  Anna  Shaw  carried  a  flag  with  the  inscription : 
"We  are  trying  to  catch  up  with  China." 

Best  of  all  was  a  banner  carried  by  The  Men's  Equal 
Suffrage  League  of  New  Jersey  which  bore  this 
legend : 

"La  Follette  is  the  only  presidential  candidate  stand 
ing  unequivocally  for  woman  suffrage. 

"Woman  suffrage  has  passed  the  stage  of  argument ; 
you  could  not  stop  it  if  you  would,  and  in  a  few  years 
you  will  be  ashamed  that  you  ever  opposed  it." 
Mrs.  R.  M.  La  Follette,  in 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  May,  1912. 


XXVII 
THE  PRESS  AND  THE  PUBLIC 


The  Modern  Newspaper 

NE  would  think  that  in  a  democracy 
like  ours,  people  seeking  the  truth,  able 
to  read  and  understand,  would  find  the 
press  their  eager  and  willing  instruct 
ors.  Such  was  the  press  of  Horace 
Greeley,  Henry  Raymond,  Chas.  A.  Dana,  Joseph 
Medill,  and  Horace  Rublee. 

But  what  do  we  find  has  occurred  in  the  past  few 
years  since  the  money  powder  has  gained  control  of 
our  industry  and  government?  It  controls  the  news 
paper  press.  The  people  know  this.  Their  con 
fidence  is  weakened  and  destroyed.  No  longer  are 
the  editorial  columns  of  newspapers  a  potent  force 
in  educating  public  opinion.  The  newspapers,  of 
course,  are  still  patronized  for  news.  But  even  as 
to  news,  the  public  is  fast  coming  to  understand 
that  wherever  news  items  bear  in  any  wray  upon  the 
control  of  government  by  business,  the  news  is 
colored ;  so  confidence  in  the  newspaper  as  a  news 
paper  is  being  undermined. 

Cultured  and  able  men  are  still  to  be  found  upon 
the  editorial  staffs  of  all  great  dailies,  but  the  pub 
lic  understands  them  to  be  hired  men  who  no  longer 
express  honest  judgments  and  sincere  conviction, 
who  write  what  they  are  told  to  write,  and  whose 
judgments  are  salaried. 


346  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

To  the  subserviency  of  the  press  to  special  inter 
ests  in  no  small  degree  is  due  the  power  and  in 
fluence  and  prosperity  of  the  weekly  and  monthly 
magazines.  A  decade  ago  young  men  trained  in 
journalism  came  to  see  this  control  of  the  news 
papers  of  the  country.  They  saw  also  an  unoccupied 
field.  And  they  went  out  and  built  up  great  period 
icals  and  magazines.  They  were  free. 

Their  pages  were  open  to  publicists  and  scholars, 
and  liberty  and  justice  and  equal  rights  found  a 
free  press  beyond  the  reach  of  the  corrupt  influence 
of  consolidated  business  and  machine  politics.  We 
entered  upon  a  new  era. 

Rise  of  the  Periodical 

The  periodical,  reduced  in  price,  attractive  and 
artistic  in  dress,  strode  like  a  young  giant  into  the 
arena  of  public  service.  Filled  with  this  spirit, 
quickened  with  human  interest,  it  assailed  social 
and  political  evils  in  high  places  and  low.  It  found 
the  power  of  the  public-service  corporation  and  the 
evil  influences  of  money  in  the  municipal  govern 
ment  of  every  large  city.  It  found  franchises  worth 
millions  of  dollars  secured  by  bribery ;  police  in 
partnership  with  thieves  and  crooks  and  prostitutes. 
It  found  juries  "fixed"  and  an  established  business 
plying  its  trade  between  litigants  and  the  back  door 
of  blinking  justice. 

What  Publicity  Revealed 

It  found  Philadelphia  giving  away  franchises, 
franchises  not  supposedly  or  estimated  to  be  worth 
$2,500,000  but  for  which  she  had  been  openly  offered 
and  refused  $2,500,000.  Milwaukee  they  found  giv- 


The  Press  and  the  Public  347 

ing  away  street-car  franchises  worth  $8,000,000 
against  the  protests  of  her  indignant  citizens.  It 
found  Chicago  robbed  in  tax-payments  of  immense 
value  by  corporate  owners  of  property  through 
fraud  and  forgery  on  a  gigantic  scale;  it  found  the 
aldermen  of  St.  Louis  organized  to  boodle  the  city 
with  a  criminal  compact,  on  file  in  the  dark  corner 
of  a  safety  deposit  vault. 

The  free  and  independent  periodical  turned  her 
searchlight  on  state  legislatures,  and  made  plain  as 
the  sun  at  noonday  the  absolute  control  of  the  cor 
rupt  lobby.  She  opened  the  closed  doors  of  the  se 
cret  caucus,  the  secret  committee,  the  secret  confer 
ence,  behind  which  United  States  Senators  and 
Members  of  Congress  betrayed  the  public  interest 
into  the  hands  of  railroads,  the  trusts,  the  tariff 
mongers,  and  the  centralized  banking  powers  of  the 
country.  She  revealed  the  same  influences  back  of 
judicial  and  other  appointments.  She  took  the  pub 
lic  through  the  great  steel  plants  and  into  the  homes 
of  the  men  who  toil  twelve  hours  a  day  and  seven 
days  in  the  week.  And  the  public  heard  their  cry 
of  despair.  She  turned  her  camera  into  the  mills 
and  shops  where  little  children  are  robbed  of  every 
chance  of  life  that  nourishes  vigorous  bodies  and 
sound  minds,  and  the  pinched  faces  and  dwarfed 
figures  told  their  pathetic  story  on  her  clean  white 
pages. 

How  the  Press  is  Controlled 

The  control  of  the  newspaper  press  is  not  the 
simple  and  expensive  one  of  ownership  and  invest 
ment.  There  is  here  and  there  a  "kept  sheet"  owned 
by  a  man  of  great  wealth  to  further  his  own  inter- 


348  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

est.  But  the  papers  of  this  class  are  few.  The  con 
trol  comes  through  that  community  of  interests,  that 
interdependence  of  investments  and  credits  which 
ties  the  publisher  up  to  the  banks,  the  advertisers 
and  the  special  interests. 

We  may  expect  this  same  kind  of  control,  sooner 
or  later,  to  reach  out  for  the  magazines.  But  more 
than  this :  I  warn  you  of  a  subtle  new  peril,  the 
centralization  of  advertising,  that  will  in  time  seek 
to  gag  you.  What  has  occurred  on  the  small  scale 
in  almost  every  city  in  the  country  will  extend  to 
the  national  scale,  and  will  ere  long  close  in  on  the 
magazines.  No  men  ever  faced  graver  responsibili 
ties.  None  have  ever  been  called  to  a  more  unsel 
fish,  patriotic  service.  I  believe  that  when  the  final 
test  comes,  you  will  not  be  found  wanting;  you 
will  not  desert  and  leave  the  people  to  depend  upon 
the  public  platform  alone,  but  you  will  hold  aloft 
the  lamp  of  Truth,  lighting  the  way  for  the  preser 
vation  of  representative  government  and  the  liberty 
of  the  American  people. 

Speech  at  Annual  Banquet  of  Periodical 
Publishers'  Association,  Philadelphia, 
February  2,  1912. 

The  Subsidized  Press 

The  setting  up  of  a  new,  invisible  and  all  power 
ful  government  in  this  country,  within  the  last 
twenty  years,  in  open  violation  of  fundamental  and 
statutory  law,  could  not  have  been  accomplished 
under  the  steady  fire  of  a  free  and  independent 
press. 

Where  public  opinion  is  free  and  uncontrolled, 
wealth  has  a  wholesome  respect  for  law. 


The  Press  and  the  Public  349 

Except  for  the  subserviency  of  most  of  the  metro 
politan  newspapers,  the  great  corporate  interests 
would  never  have  ventured  upon  the  impudent,  law 
less  consolidation  of  business,  for  the  suppression 
of  competition,  the  control  of  production,  markets 
and  prices. 

Except  for  this  monstrous  crime,  65  per  cent  of 
all  the  wealth  of  this  country  would  not  now  be 
centralized  in  the  hands  of  two  per  cent  of  all  the 
people.  And  we  might  today  be  industrially  and 
commercially  a  free  people,  enjoying  the  blessings 
of  a  real  democracy. 

La  Pollette's  Magazine,  April,  1918. 

The  Famous  St.  Paul  Speech 

Senator  La  Follette  was  widely  quoted  in  the 
press  as  having  said  in  a  speech  at  St.  Paul,  Minne 
sota,  September  20,  1917,  that  the  United  States  had 
no  grievances  against  Germany.  At  the  request  of 
the  Minnesota  commission  of  public  safety  an  in 
vestigation  of  "the  charge  was  made  by  the  senate 
and  the  matter  finally  dropped  when  the  Associated 
Press  admitted  it  had  incorrectly  quoted  him. 

What  he  actually  said  is  shown  by  the  duly  certi 
fied  transcript  of  the  official  stenographer  who  re 
ported  the  speech  for  the  Nonpartisan  League. 
What  the  press  reported  him  as  having  said  is 
shown  by  the  quotations  from  a  few  papers  which 
are  typical  of  hundreds  of  others. 

The  Chicago  Daily  Tribune  of  September  2ist 
last  quoted  Senator  La  Follette  as  saying: 

"I  wasn't  in  favor  of  beginning  this  war.  We  had 
no  grievance." 


350  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

The  Washington  Post  of  September  22nd: 

"I  wasn't  in  favor  of  beginning  this  war.  We  had 
no  grievance." 

The  New  York  Times,  September  22nd : 

"I  was  not  in  favor  of  beginning  this  w^ar.  We 
had  no  grievance." 

Finally  the  Literary  Digest  for  October  6,  1917, 
nearly  a  month  after  the  speech  was  made,  purports 
to  gather  up  the  comment  of  the  papers  throughout 
the  country,  and  says  that  as  reported  in  the  press 
despatches,  Senator  La  Follette  said : 

"I  was  not  in  favor  of  beginning  this  war.  We 
had  no  grievance." 

What  was  actually  said  by  Senator  La  Follette 
as  shown  by  the  official  certified  transcript  of  his 
speech  above  referred  to  was : 

"For  my  own  part  I  was  not  in  favor  of  begin 
ning  the  war.  I  don't  mean  to  say  that  we  hadn't 
suffered  grievances ;  we  had  at  the  hands  of  Gen- 
many,  serious  grievances." 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  November,  1917. 

Retraction  by  Associated  Press 

The  resolutions  were  referred  to  the  committee 
on  privileges  and  elections  of  the  senate  and  by  it 
they  were  referred  to  a  sub-committee  to  investi 
gate  the  accuracy  of  the  report  of  the  speech,  the 
accuracy  of  the  statements  made  in  such  speech  and 
to  report  its  findings  to  the  full  committee  the  first 
day  of  the  next  regular  session  in  December,  1917. 
The  sub-committee  did  not  make  any  report  to  the 
full  committee  as  provided  in  the  resolution  with  ref 
erence  to  it. 


The  Press  and  the  Public  351 

Recently  Gilbert  E.  Roe  representing  Senator 
La  Follette  appeared  before  the  committee  and 
asked  for  a  dismissal  of  the  proceedings,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  argument  referred  to  the  erroneous 
report  of  the  speech  as  published  in  the  newspapers, 
Thereupon  the  Associated  Press  published  a  retrac 
tion  of  its  erroneous  report,  and  said  : 

"The  error  was  regrettable  and  the  Associated 
Press  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  do  justice  to 
Senator  La  Follette." 

Upon  this  retraction  the  New  York  Evening  Post 
made  the  following  editorial  comment: 

"The  Associated  Press  has  handsomely  and 
promptly  admitted  its  grievous  fault  in  misreport- 
ing  Senator  La  Follette.  Whereas  he  said  in  his 
St.  Paul  speech  that  'we  had  grievances'  against 
Germany,  and  was  so  reported  the  next  day  in  the 
St.  Paul  newspapers,  some  one  slipped  the  fatal 
word  'no'  into  the  sentence  in  the  Associated  Press 
report  and  made  it  read :  'We  had  no  grievances.' 
Whether  this  was  done  maliciously  or  accidentally 
will  probably  never  be  known,  but  the  fact  remains 
that  irreparable  injury  was  done  to  the  senator,  and 
that  a  large  part  of  the  outcry  against  him  was  due 
to  this  misstatement  in  the  one  thousand  news 
papers  which  are  served  by  the  Associated  Press. 
Senator  La  Follette  declared  at  the  time  that  the 
press  had  misquoted  him,  but  the  matter  was  never 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Associated  Press 
until  Mr.  Gilbert  E.  Roe,  his  attorney,  stated  the 
fact  before  the  senate  committee  of  inquiry  on  Tues 
day.  Why  the  senator  delayed  so  long  is  a  mys 
tery  ;  but  the  serious  wrong  done  by  this  error  needs 


352  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

no  expatiating.  No  amount  of  apology  can  undo  it. 
The  thought  that  unintentionally  so  extreme  an  in 
justice  may  be  done  to  a  public  man  is  one  to  sober 
all  responsible  journalism." 

Why  the  senator  delayed  so  long  in  denying  the 
false  report  should  be  no  mystery  because  the  sena 
tor  did  not  delay  such  denial.  He  immediately 
publicly  denied  the  correctness  of  the  report  of  his 
speech,  but  the  newspapers  continued  for  months 
afterward  to  use  the  false  report  as  a  text  upon 
which  to  base  arguments  condemning  the  senator 
and  creating  public  sentiment  against  him.  The 
senator  had  no  adequate  opportunity  to  give  to  the 
public  the  truth  of  the  matter.  The  press  was  not 
open  to  him  for  that  purpose.  As  the  New  York 
Evening  Post  says :  "The  thought  that  unintention 
ally  so  extreme  an  injustice  may  be  done  a  public 
man  is  one  to  sober  all  responsible  journalism." 
La  Follette's  Magazine,  June,  1918. 

How  the  Press  May  be  Russianized 

Powrer  vested  anywhere  in  any  office  or  court  is 
always  sooner  or  later  abused ;  and  here  is  a  power 
the  abuse  of  which  is  easy.  Given  an  unscrupulous 
administration,  or  an  honest  one  under  the  pres 
sure  of  troublous  times,  and  the  law  contended. for 
in  the  Pulitzer  and  Smith  cases  lends  itself  to  a 
press  censorship  as  galling  and  ruinous  to  liberty 
as  that  of  Russia.  It  may  be  that  we  have  never 
had  an  administration  capable  of  so  using  it ;  but 
he  would  be  a  bold  man  who  would  assert  it.  The 
publication  of  an  accusation  is  always  the  more 
perilous  as  it  is  more  grave.  The  administration, 


The  Press  and  the  Public  353 

therefore,  seeking  to  silence  criticism  by  this  new 
law,  or  this  new  application  of  an  old  law,  would 
be  safer  in  committing  heinous  crimes  than  in  fall 
ing  into  slight  errors.  For  the  editor  who  might 
dare  to  call  public  attention  to  a  merely  question 
able  transaction  at  Washington,  w^ould  not  venture 
life  and  liberty  so  far  as  to  allege  a  crime,  no  matter 
how  clear  the  proof.  His  peril  would  be  too  great. 
Thus  the  press  would  be  rendered  most  timid  in 
those  very  exigencies  in  which  the  public  safety 
calls  for  the  most  fearless  denunciation. 

Is  the  supposed  case  fanciful?  Not  at  all.  In  the 
life  of  every  nation  come  the  crises  when  power  of 
this  sort  is  sure  to  be  abused.  The  time  to  make 
the  stand  against  it  is  now.  The  beginning  of  evil 
is  like  the  letting  out  of  water ;  and  eternal  vigilance 
is  the  price  of  liberty. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  March  20,  1909. 

Mission  of  a  Magazine 

La  Follette's  will  be  a  magazine  of  progress,  so 
cial,  intellectual,  institutional.  Moreover,  it  will  be 
progressive  in  the  more  distinctly  political  sense. 
It  is  founded  in  the  belief  that  it  can  aid  in  making 
our  government  represent  with  more  fidelity  the 
will  of  the  people. 

This  magazine  recognizes  as  its  chief  task  that  of 
aiding  in  winning  back  for  the  people  the  complete 
power  over  government, — national,  state  and  mu 
nicipal, — which  has  been  lost  to  them  by  the  en 
croachments  of  party  machines,  corporate  and  unin 
corporated  monopolies,  and  by  the  rapid  growth  of 
immense  populations. 


354  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

La  Follette's  will  speak  the  truth.  No  eminence 
of  position  in  party  or  government  shall  protect  a 
servant  of  the  people  from  deserved  criticism ;  and 
its  approval  will  be  gladly  given  to  all  who  com 
mend  themselves  to  it  by  brave  and  right  action  in 
any  party  or  place. 

Men  and  measures  are  both  important.  This 
magazine  will  discuss  measures  and  political  parties 
and  policies  impartially  and  fearlessly.  It  will  not 
shrink  from  making  estimates  of  men  and  will  from 
time  to  time  call  the  roll  in  order  to  disclose  the 
exact  position  of  those  who  are  true  and  those  who 
are  false  to  public  interest. 

It  is  not  enough  to  overthrow  the  political  power 
of  special  interests.  In  the  struggle  for  self-gov 
ernment  throughout  the  nation  every  progressive 
movement  will  be  critically  observed  and  supported 
on  merit.  Constructive  legislation  wherever  enacted 
will  be  so  discussed  as  to  give  an  intelligent  con 
ception  of  the  actual  progress  made  in  the  su 
premely  difficult  task  of  embodying  progressive 
ideas  and  ideals  in  lawrs  and  institutions.  We  hope 
to  be  useful  in  constructive  work,  as  well  as  in  de 
structive  criticism.  We  aim  to  be  practical  in  our 
suggestions.  We  shall  be  just  to  every  interest. 
Property  rights  are  safe.  The  constitution  guaran 
tees  security — a  security  which  unanimous  public 
opinion  in  America  approves  and  supports. 

We  shall  make  mistakes.  We  assert  no  claim  to 
infallibility.  It  is  not  expected  that  our  readers 
will  agree  with  all  we  have  to  say.  But  the  co- 


The  Press  and  the  Public  355 

operation  necessary  to  permanent  progress  can  be 
secured  only  through  intelligent  discussion.  We 
hope  that  this  magazine  may  help  to  stimulate  dis 
cussion  and  thought  to  the  end  that  out  of  it  shall 
come  better  things  into  the  life  of  this  nation. 
First  Editorial  La  Follette's  Magazine, 

January  9,  1909. 

Fooling  the  People 

People  who  are  here  this  afternoon  may  think 
that  the  press  of  the  country  cannot  fool  them. 
They  may  read  what  they  know  is  a  lie  tonight  in 
the  papers.  They  read  it  repeated  tomorrow  and 
the  next  and  the  next  day,  and  they  say  to  their 
families  that  there  is  nothing  in  it.  That  thing  is 
repeated  time  after  time,  day  after  day,  it  may  be 
when  they  see  it  in  some  special  article  elaborately 
set  up  and  illustrated,  but  finally  it  steals  in  upon 
the  judgment  of  the  people. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Aug.  29,  1919. 

Surrender  of  the   Magazines 

If  you  will  study  the  editorial  pages  of  newspa 
pers  through  the  years,  beginning  a  little  more  than 
20  years  ago,  you  will  find  the  trail  of  the  serpent 
that  has  control  of  the  great  newspapers  of  the 
country.  *  *  * 

I  spoke  over  at  Philadelphia  in  1912,  and  I  warned 
the  magazine  publishers  that  the  day  was  at  hand 
when  they,  one  after  another,  would  be  confronted 
with  the  necessity  of  yielding  to  this  mighty  power 
and  ceasing  the  publication  of  articles  of  criticism 


356  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

against  the  great  industrial  and  commercial  organ 
izations  in  this  country  or  they  would  be  denied  ad- 
veitf-ising  and  forced  to  the  wall. 

Mr.  President,  I  stand  here  this  afternoon  to  say 
that  one  after  another  of  those  magazines  has  suc 
cumbed  to  that  influence.  I  stand  here  to  say  that 
it  is  impossible  to  secure  the  publication  in  those 
magazines  today  of  articles  denouncing  this  viola 
tion  of  law,  this  encroachment  upon  the  liberties  of 
the  people,  this  overlordship  that  controls  our  in 
dustrial  and  commercial  life.  I  say  there  is  not  one 
cf  these  great  periodicals,  excepting  four  or  five  that 
I  could  number  on  one  hand,  left  today  the  control 
of  which  has  not  been  acquired  by  the  special  inter 
ests,  the  Standard  Oil  or  like  organizations.  One 
after  another  of  these  magazines,  periodicals,  and 
publications  has  surrendered  to  that  mighty  power. 
There  are  only  a  few  publications  that  reach,  in  all 
probability,  more  than  150,000  to  200,000  subscrib 
ers — which  means  probably  not  more  than  a  million 
readers  in  the  United  States — that  absolutely  are 
free  to  publish  criticism.  That  is  the  truth,  and  it 
is  a  terrible  commentary  on  our  Government. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Aug.  29,  1919. 

On  Public  Opinion 

Sir,  I  respect  public  opinion.  I  do  not  fear  it.  I 
do  not  hold  it  in  contempt.  The  public  judgment  of 
this  great  country  forms  slowly.  It  is  intelligent. 
No  body  of  men  in  this  country  is  superior  to  it.  In 
a  representative  democracy  the  common  judgment 
of  the  majority  must  find  expression  in  the  law  of 


The  Press  and  the  Public  357 

the  land.    To  deny  this  is  to  repudiate  the  principles 
upon  which  representative  democracy  is  founded. 

It  is  not  prejudice  nor  clamor  which  is  pressing 
this  subject  upon  the  attention  of  this  body.  It  is 
a  calm,  well-considered  public  judgment.  It  is  born 
of  conviction — not  passion — and  it  were  wise  for 
us  to  give  it  heed. 

The  public  has  reasoned  out  its  case.  For  more 
than  a  generation  of  time  it  has  wrought  upon  this 
great  question  with  heart  and  brain  in  its  daily  con 
tact  with  the  great  railway  corporations.  It  has 
mastered  all  the  facts.  It  is  just.  It  is  honest.  It 
is  rational.  It  respects  property  rights.  It  well 
knows  that  its  own  industrial  and  commercial  pros 
perity  would  suffer  and  decline  if  the  railroads  were 
wronged,  their  capital  impaired,  their  profits  un 
justly  diminished. 

But  the  public  refuses  longer  to  recognize  this 
subject  as  one  which  the  railroads  alone  have  the 
right  to  pass  upon.  It  declines  longer  to  approach 
it  with  awe.  It  no  longer  regards  the  railroad 
schedule  as  a  mystery.  It  understands  the  meaning 
of  rebates  and  "concession,"  the  evasions  through 
"purchasing  agents"  and  false  weights,  the  subter 
fuge  of  "damage  claims,"  the  significance  of  "switch 
ing  charges,"  "midnight  tariffs,"  "milling  in  transit," 
"tap-line  allowances,"  "underbilling,"  and  "demur 
rage  charges."  It  comprehends  the  device  known 
as  the  "industrial  railway,"  the  "terminal  railway," 
and  all  the  tricks  of  inside  companies,  each  levying 
tribute  upon  the  traffic.  It  is  quite  familiar  with  the 
favoritism  given  to  express  companies,  and  knows 


358  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

exactly  how  producer  and  consumer  have  been 
handed  over  by  the  railroads,  to  be  plundered  by 
private  car  and  refrigerator  lines,  in  exchange  for 
their  traffic. 

Because  it  is  a  natural  monopoly,  because  it  is  the 
creature  of  government,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  gov 
ernment  to  see  to  it  that  the  railway  company  in 
flicts  no  wrong  upon  the  public,  to  compel  it  to  do 
what  is  right,  and  to  perform  its  office  as  a  common 
carrier. 

Sir,  it  is  much  easier  to  stand  with  these  great 
interests  than  against  them.  This  was  true  when 
Adam  Smith  wrote  his  Wealth  of  Nations,  and  it 
is  true  in  1906. 

Mr.  President,  I  contend  here,  as  I  have  contended 
upon  the  public  platform  in  Wisconsin,  and  in 
other  States,  that  the  history  of  the  last  thirty  years 
of  struggle  for  just  and  equitable  legislation  dem 
onstrates  that  the  powerful  combinations  of  organ 
ized  wealth  and  special  interests  have  had  an  over 
balancing  control  in  state  and  national  legislation. 

For  a  generation  the  American  people  have  watched 
the  growth  of  this  power  in  legislation.  They 
observe  how  vast  and  far-reaching  these  modern 
business  methods  are  in  fact.  Against  the  natural 
laws  of  trade  and  commerce  is  set  the  arbitrary  will 
of  a  few  masters  of  special  privilege.  The  principal 
transportation  lines  of  the  country  are  so  operated 
as  to  eliminate  competition.  Between  railroads  and 
other  monopolies  controlling  great  natural  resources 
and  most  of  the  necessaries  of  life  there  exists  a 
"community  of  interests"  in  all  cases  and  an  identity 


The  Press  and  the  Public  359 

of  ownership  in  many.  They  have  observed  that 
these  great  combinations  are  closely  associated  in 
business  for  business  reasons ;  that  they  are  also 
closely  associated  in  politics  for  business  reasons ; 
that  together  they  constitute  a  complete  system ; 
that  they  encroach  upon  the  public  rights,  defeat 
legislation  for  the  public  good,  and  secure  laws  to 
promote  private  interests. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  April  19,  1906. 


XXVIII 
MISCELLANEOUS 

Tribute  to  Albert  R.  Hall 

RIENDS:  I  have  been  requested  to  say 
a  word  respecting  the  life  and  char- 
acter  of  our  friend.  All  over  this  state 
today,  in  the  homes  throughout  a 
sister  state,  in  many  throughout  this 
union,  to  whose  attention  the  work  of  Mr.  Hall  in 
public  life  had  been  attracted,  there  are  sad  hearts 
and  bowed  heads.  We  are  gathered  here  to  pay  a 
lost  tribute  to  a  great  man  whose  life  has  been  so 
simple,  so  modest,  whose  demeanor  has  been  so 
humble  that  many  of  us  perhaps  have  not  been 
truly  conscious  of  the  greatness  of  his  character. 
But  into  the  history  of  this  state  and  into  the  lives 
of  its  people  there  have  come  a  new  significance  and 
a  new  meaning,  high  standards,  better  thoughts, 
better  living,  greater  devotion  to  public  interests 
than  would  have  been  known  except  for  the  life  of 
Mr.  Hall. 

It  is  not  easy  to  paint  a  portrait.  It  is  much 
easier  and  requires  a  much  lower  order  of  ability 
to  make  a  caricature.  I  know  that  he  would  have 
no  friend  of  his  say  one  word  in  exaggeration  of  his 
work  and  his  life.  But  knowing  him  somewhat 
intimately  since  he  has  been  in  the  public  service  of 
the  state,  I  do  not  feel  that  it  would  be  within  my 
power  to  draw  too  strongly,  to  utter  with  any  too 
great  degree  of  emphasis  expressions  of  praise  on 
his  life  and  public  service. 


Miscellaneous  361 

He  was  a  man  of  splendid  courage;  he  feared 
nothing  except  to  do  wrong.  In  his  heart  he  bore 
malice  against  none.  I  have  seen  him  silent,  his 
face  quivering  and  working  under  the  sting  of  un 
just  criticism,  but  I  never  heard  from  his  lips  an 
unkind  word  with  reference  to  those  who  did  not 
agree  with  him.  I  do  not  believe  that  Albert  R. 
Hall  ever  consciously  in  his  life  did  a  wrong.  He 
may  have  made  mistakes,  and  who  has  not?  He 
never  took  an  advantage ;  he  never  worked  in  the 
dark;  he  stood  out  boldly  before  all  men  for  what  he 
believed  wras  for  the  best  interest  of  the  public. 

A  life  like  his  does  not  terminate  with  death.  It 
lives  on  and  on  through  the  generations.  In  the 
higher  ideals  which  he  has  established  in  this  state, 
in  the  better  regard  for  public  rights  which  he  has 
made  plain  as  a  public  duty  for  all  men,  in  right 
conduct  with  individuals  in  the  community  where 
he  lived,  in  all  his  relations  with  all  of  his  fellow- 
men,  he  has  so  impressed  himself  upon  the  day  and 
hour  of  his  time  that  his  life  should  live  and  go  on 
in  the  perfected  life  of  the  friends  who  knew  him 
and  have  been  made  better  by  his  presence. 

We  can  take  some  little  comfort  in  the  thought 
that  life  has  not  been  interrupted,  that  his  great 
character  is  still  working  out  the  purposes  of  a 
higher  and  better  life,  and  as  we  separate  today, 
after  performing  the  last  sad  duties,  we  can  say  to 
our  friend  "farewell  but  not  forgotten."  He  will 
live  in  the  lives  of  each  of  us  while  we  are  spared. 
At  Funeral  of  A.  R.  Hall,  Knapp,  Wisconsin, 

June  4,  1905. 


362  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Advance  Toward   Higher  Civilization 

Gentlemen,  the  day  of  your  admission  to  that 
profession  which  honors  every  man  who  honors  it, 
is  a  day  of  royal  triumph  for  you — but  it  is  not  a 
day  of  triumph  for  you  alone.  We  all  have  a  share 
in  it.  From  the  gilded  home  of  the  millionaire  in 
the  North,  to  the  meanest  hut  in  the  rice  swamps 
of  the  South,  every  man  and  woman  in  the  land 
owns  an  interest  in  this  event. 

We  are  one  people,  one  by  truth,  one  almost  by 
blood.  Our  lives  run  side  by  side.  Our  ashes  rest 
in  the  same  soil.  The  social  order  wraps  us  about 
altogether  as  the  atmosphere  envelops  the  earth. 
Each  of  us  draws  from  it  that  which  nourishes  in 
tellectual  and  spiritual  life.  Each  one  consciously 
or  unconsciously  gives  back  something  of  himself, 
clean  or  unclean,  nourishing  or  poisonous  to  that 
social  organization.  It  is  snobbish  stupidity,  it  is 
supreme  folly,  to  talk  of  non-contact,  or  exclusion ! 
Recognize  it  or  not,  it  is  a  homogeneous  mass,  and 
each  element  is  vitally  interested  in  every  other. 

You  stand  upon  the  rim  of  an  ever-expanding 
horizon.  The  morning  breaks.  Before  you  lies  the 
waiting  world  of  opportunity — behind  you  the  long 
night  of  degradation,  of  ignominy,  of  human  slavery. 
At  your  back  stands  a  quick,  responsive,  capable, 
willing  race,  panting  to  be  led  to  a  higher  civili 
zation — above  and  beyond  you  the  angel  of  human 
progress  beckons  you  on  and  on.  A  new  century 
is  bursting  upon  you.  There  never  was  such  an  op 
portunity  for  leadership  in  the  history  of  the  hu- 


Miscellaneous  363 

man  race.     You  are  equipped  for  the  mighty  con 
test.     Go  to  your  work. 

Address  to  Howard  University  Law  Class,  1888. 

On  Transplanted  Foreign  Culture 

Journeying  across  Wisconsin  in  any  direction,  one 
passes  through  cities  and  villages,  counties  and 
townships,  changed,  from  unbroken  prairies  and 
vast  forests,  to  thickly  populated  districts  with  beau 
tiful  homes,  rich  farms  and  great  factories,  by  the 
hardy,  courageous,  but  patient,  industry  of  the  Ger 
man  pioneer. 

In  that  hour,  fortunate  for  us,  when  emigration 
from  the  fatherland  was  at  its  full  tide,  the  condi 
tions  invited  most  strongly  toward  this  young  com 
monwealth.  Its  productive  soil,  its  low  priced  lands, 
its  lakes  and  streams  and  forests,  its  climate,  its 
liberal  spirit,  attracted  alike  the  idealist,  who  dreamed 
of  a  German  state  within  the  Union,  and  the 
sturdy,  practical  homeseeker,  who  left  his  father 
land  in  the  hope  of  larger  opportunity  in  a  new 
country. 

Their  industry,  thrift,  prudence  and  unyielding 
perseverance  underlie  much  of  our  material  devel 
opment.  Their  native  directness  and  honesty  of 
thought,  their  resolute  maintenance  of  right  and 
justice  and  good  order  in  every  community  have 
stamped  their  character  upon  the  citizenship  of  our 
commonwealth.  To  this  keen,  eager,  restless,  com 
mercial  spirit  of  the  Yankee,  they  have  contributed 
calmness,  repose,  conservatism,  a  philosophic  judg 
ment,  and  a  wise  appreciation  of  the  beneficence  of 
leisure.  We  have  become  one  people.  Our  lives 


364  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

run  side  by  side;  their  living  streams  commingle; 
our  ashes  rest  in  the  same  soil. 

No  race  of  men  has  more  enriched  the  artistic 
life  of  the  world  than  the  German.  Into  this  new 
commonwealth  they  brought  their  native  endow 
ment  of  artistic  temperament — a  good  leaven  to  our 
somewhat  ascetic  Puritan  character. 

As  inherent  as  the  love  of  music  and  flowers  and 
children,  is  the  German's  love  of  home,  his  respect 
for  law,  his  loyalty  to  country.  Had  they  not  been 
for  generations  imbued  with  patriotism  and  undying 
affection  for  the  fatherland,  they  could  not  in  na 
ture  have  so  soon  become  loyal  American  citizens ; 
they  would  not  have  sustained,  as  they  did  with 
blood  and  treasure,  this  government  in  its  darkest 
hour;  they  would  not  have  proved  such  a  bulwark 
of  law-abiding  sentiment  for  state  and  nation.  The 
German-American's  love  for  his  native  land,  its 
heroic  past,  its  majestic  presence,  its  language,  its 
traditions,  its  literature,  its  song,  serves  only  to 
foster  those  elements  of  character  which  intensify 
his  allegiance,  his  loyalty,  his  devotion  to  the  land 
of  his  adoption. 

Address  Welcoming  Prince  Henry, 

Milwaukee,  March  4,  1902. 

Welcome  to  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters 

I  congratulate  you  upon  this  large  gathering  and 
the  good  work  in  which  you  are  engaged.  The 
foundation  sentiment  of  your  order  appeals  to  the 
right  side  of  human  nature.  Your  ministration  is 
that  of  helpfulness.  You  are  not  organized  for  in 
vestment  or  profit  or  gain,  but  for  mutual  benefit. 


Miscellaneous  365 

Yours  is  a  benevolent  order.  You  are  bound  to 
gether  to  relieve  the  sick  and  distressed,  to  comfort 
and  sustain  the  widow,  and  to  open  the  door  of 
opportunity  to  the  orphan.  In  the  time  of  greatest 
trial,  in  the  darkest  hour  of  life,  your  word  of  good 
cheer  is  heard  across  the  open  grave,  and  the  warm 
grasp  of  your  fraternal  hand  takes  away  something 
of  the  chill  of  death. 

I  believe  in  this  and  other  orders  because  they  are 
American  institutions,  democratic  in  character. 
Every  man  is  upon  a  level  with  every  other  man. 
Each  bears  his  just  share  of  the  burden  and  re 
ceives  his  proportionate  share  of  the  benefits.  The 
lessons  which  you  teach  are  the  lessons  of  equal 
rights  for  all ;  equal  duties,  equal  responsibilities, 
equal  privileges  and  equal  voice.  These  are  the 
foundation  principles  upon  which  the  fathers  es 
tablished  this  government,  and  every  organization 
such  as  I  see  before  me  here  tonight  is  essentially 
democratic.  It  typifies  representative  government. 
It  is  a  little  republic  and  is  a  foundation  of  inspira 
tion  for  patriotic  citizenship. 

Welcome  to  Catholic  Foresters,  June  n,  1901. 

The  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition 

Pity,  indeed,  the  narrow  soul  which  does  not  go 
out  today  in  reverence  to  that  tomb  at  Monticello 
where  rest  the  ashes  of  him  who  framed  the  act  of 
original  inherent  sovereignty,  adopted  by  the  peo 
ple, — declaring  that  all  men  are  created  equal  and  that 
government  must  derive  its  just  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed.  Through  his  statesman 
ship  we  acquired  half  a  continent  within  which  that 


366  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

government  might  expand.  He  gave  to  higher  edu 
cation  the  first  state  university  in  America,  dedicat 
ing  it  forever  to  freedom  with  this  as  its  motto : 

"And  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall 
make  you  free." 

He  and  his  compatriots  were  not  the  product  of 
the  eighteenth  century  any  more  than  was  their 
work  for  their  day  and  generation  alone.  They 
were  in  God's  plan  for  the  liberty  of  the  human  race 
centuries  before.  When  the  declaration  of  inde 
pendence  was  given  to  the  w^orld,  it  spoke  for  the 
great  silent  majority  whose  lives  had  been  laid 
upon  the  altar  of  liberty  through  all  the  ages.  It 
spoke  for  the  millions  yet  unborn,  whose  precious 
heritage  is  American  democracy. 

And  this  great  exposition  of  the  progress  and 
power  of  the  nations  of  the  world  shall  exert  its 
liberalizing  influence  on  all  mankind,  inspire  mu 
tual  confidence  and  respect  among  established  gov 
ernments,  quicken  thought,  stimulate  endeavor,  and 
promote  peace  and  happiness.  It  shall  do  more 
than  that.  It  shall  bring  the  people  of  this  country 
together  in  commemoration  of  great  events  in  its 
history,  charged  with  patriotic  significance  to  every 
citizen  of  the  republic. 

Speech  cannot  express  the  indebtedness  of  the 
people  of  this  nation  to  you  who  have  wrought  out 
in  harmony  the  greatest  work  of  its  kind  yet  ac 
complished  by  man.  Every  worthy  citizen  should 
count  it  a  great  privilege  and  a  patriotic  duty  to 
testify  his  appreciation  by  personally  participating 
in  this  memorable  event.  No  one  can  come  here 


Miscellaneous  367 

and  not  feel  impelled  to  carry  this  message  back  to 
his  neighbors  and  friends. 

From  a  profound  heart  we  thank  you  for  the  op 
portunity  to  come  and  the  welcome  we  have  re 
ceived.  We  pledge  you  the  most  cordial  support 
of  the  state  of  Wisconsin. 

Speech  at  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition, 

St.  Louis,   1904. 

Not  Influenced  by  Personal  Abuse 

I  concede  that,  Mr.  President.  I  have  a  habit 
\\hich  perhaps  is  not  a  matter  of  interest  and  I 
ought  not  to  detain  the  senate  to  mention  it — when 
I  am  speaking  I  see  the  face  of  every  senator  and 
every  change  of  expression  just  as  in  practicing 
lawr  I  saw  the  face  of  every  juryman,  and  used  to 
think  that  I  knew  what  was  passing  in  the  mind  of 
each  juror.  It  is  a  fault.  Let  that  pass. 

Mr.  President,  I  return  nowr  to  say  that  a  great 
subject  is  before  the  senate.  It  is  one  that  strikes 
deep  dowrn  into  the  lives  and  the  homes  and  will 
profoundly  affect  the  prosperity  and  the  happiness 
of  all  the  people  of  this  country.  It  does  not  affect 
merely  manufacturers.  It  does  not  affect  merely 
the  people  who  work  for  the  manufacturers  and 
their  interests.  It  ought  to  be  weighed  with  very 
great  care.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  interests 
of  the  manufacturers  and  those  who  have  invested 
their  capital  are  not  entitled  to  be  weighed  with  as 
great  care ;  but  those  who  work  for  wrages  are  en 
titled  to  have  their  interests  carefully  considered 
as  well. 


368  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Mr.  President,  this  bill  will  bear  upon  the  people 
of  this  whole  country — ninety  millions  of  them — 
either  fairly  or  unfairly,  justly  or  unjustly.  I  tell  you 
it  is  of  tremendous  consequence  what  we  do  here 
each  day.  We  pass  a  paragraph  or  a  schedule,  and 
it  is  driven  in  on  me  all  the  while  that  we  do  not 
know  just  how  our  action  is  going  to  affect  the 
people  of  our  country.  We  do  not  know  how  much 
that  is  going  to  take  out  of  the  earnings  or  savings 
of  this  family  or  that  family,  and  we  ought  to  know. 

The  formation  of  public  opinion  is  of  tremendous 
importance  in  framing  legislation. 

Nothing  ought  to  have  a  place  in  the  debate  upon 
this  great  measure  except  that  which  is  germane  to 
the  bill.  The  issue  involved  should  not  be  obscured 
by  any  personal  controversy.  It  shall  not  be  so  ob 
scured  with  my  sanction. 

Mr.  President,  it  is  one  of  the  least  concerns  of 
my  life  how  votes  shall  be  cast  in  an  election  in  so 
far  as  it  affects  me.  I  never  have  in  my  public  life 
taken  the  easier  pathway.  I  could  have  done  so.  I 
never  have.  What  I  am  saying  today  is  said  from 
a  deep  conviction. 

I  have  given  fifteen  years  out  of  the  best  of  my 
life  to  a  great  struggle  in  my  state.  I  became  deeply 
interested  in  certain  things  that  seemed  to  me  to 
go  to  the  very  foundation  of  this  government.  That 
interest  possessed  me;  it  took  me  out  of  my  pro 
fession  ;  it  put  me  into  a  contest  in  Wisconsin  to 
establish  in  that  commonwealth,  first  of  all,  if  pos 
sible,  a  government  by  the  people  and  for  the 
people. 


Miscellaneous  369 

Mr.  President,  I  would  not  be  provincial ;  I  would 
not  be  boastful ;  but  something  has  been  accom 
plished  in  Wisconsin  that  draws  to  it  the  leading 
students  of  government  from  every  state  in  this 
union.  From  every  great  university,  from  the  eco 
nomic  departments  of  the  great  universities  of  Eu 
rope,  they  have  come  to  the  capital  of  Wisconsin 
to  study  the  legislation  of  that  state,  especially 
concerning  the  government  of  corporations  in  their 
relation  to  the  life  of  the  people. 

Principle  Placed   Before   Individual 

Mr.  President,  at  every  step  in  that  long  fight  I 
was  subjected  to  personal  attacks  of  the  most  vir 
ulent  kind — misrepresenting  my  character,  attempt 
ing  to  destroy  it,  assailing  my  motives,  lying  about 
everything  I  did  and  everything  I  did  not.  But, 
sir,  I  early  marked  out  a  course  for  myself.  I  said : 
"If  I  permit  myself  to  be  drawn  aside  to  answer 
personal  attacks,  this  great  struggle  to  bring  gov 
ernment  back  to  the  people  will  be  degraded  to  a 
petty  personal  issue."  I  turned  neither  to  the  right 
hand  nor  to  the  left.  When  assailed  and  misrepre 
sented,  my  answer  was :  "The  corporations  in  the 
state  of  Wisconsin  are  not  paying  their  share  of  the 
taxes."  To  every  personal  charge  I  made  one  an* 
swer :  "The  public-service  corporations  shall  not  con 
trol  in  legislation.  They  shall  serve  the  public  im 
partially,  and  render  services  at  reasonable  rates." 

So  in  respect  to  every  assault  made  upon  me,  Mr. 
President,  my  answer  wras  the  great  issue.  As  an 
individual  I  was  insignificant,  of  little  consequence. 
If  I  did  anything  for  the  state,  in  which  I  was  born 


370  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

and  live,  it  was  simply  as  an  humble  instrument 
for  the  right  settlement  of  the  great  issues  over 
which  we  have,  sir,  so  little  control  in  our  day  and 
generation.  We  do  not,  \ve  cannot,  make  the  is 
sues.  Great  ideas  thrust  themselves  into  the  arena ; 
they  are  antagonistic ;  one  is  right  and  one  is  wrong  ; 
and  as  the  contest  goes  on  the  men  who  are  drawn 
into  that  contest  are  but  the  instruments  in  those 
great  ideas  of  evolution  in  the  progress  of  the  race. 

Mr.  President,  does  anybody  suppose  that  I  am 
to  turn  aside  in  this  debate  to  answer  some  petty 
and  contemptible  attack  upon  me  personally?  No. 
The  senate  was  occupied  yesterday  for  five  hours, 
at  least,  in  the  discussion  of  the  cotton  schedule 
Certain  facts  were  laid  before  this  body.  I  may  be 
wrong  about  it,  but,  in  my  judgment,  they  were 
important  facts.  An  evening  session  followed. 
Some  sensationalism  developed  in  that  evening  ses 
sion,  and  it  claimed  a  space  in  the  newspapers  re 
porting  yesterday's  proceedings  of  congress  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  debate  upon  the  bill.  So  today,  Mr. 
President,  that  might  be  repeated  if  personal  con 
troversy  were  again  intruded  into  this  discussion. 
It  shall  not  occur  writh  my  consent. 

As  to  the  remarks  of  the  senator  from  Pennsyl 
vania  (Mr.  Penrose)  last  evening,  Mr.  President,  the 
public  is  not  greatly  interested  in  individual  sena 
tors  and  how  they  spend  their  time  when  away  from 
the  senate  chamber.  The  people  of  Wisconsin  will 
take  care  of  me  if  I  am  an  unfaithful  servant  with 
out  prompting  from  any  senator  upon  this  floor. 
I  would  suggest  that  he  would  render  a  more  im 
portant  service  to  the  country  and  to  the  state  of 


Miscellaneous  371 

Pennsylvania,  were  he  to  account  for  the  way  he 
spends  his  time  when  absent  from  this  body,  than 
in  any  effort  to  make  any  account  of  mine. 

I  might  add,  Mr.  President,  that  no  man  could 
undertake  to  account  for  the  whereabouts  of  the 
senator  from  Pennsylvania  when  absent  from  this 
body  without  transgressing  the  rules  of  the  senate, 
and  that  I  do  not  purpose  to  do  in  this  debate. 

Speech  on  Tariff,  U.  S.  Senate,  June  3,  1909. 

Appreciation  of  a  Fellow  Fighter 

One  morning  in  December,  1909,  there  came  into 
my  office  in  the  Capitol  Building,  a  tall,  bony,  slightly 
stooped  man,  with  a  face  bespeaking  superior  in 
telligence  and  lofty  character.  It  was  Andrew  Fur- 
useth. 

He  wanted  to  interest  me  in  the  cause  of  the 
American  sailor.  He  was  a  sailor  himself,  he  said, 
and  he  wanted  to  "be  free."  I  did  not  know  what 
he  meant.  I  questioned  him.  Surely  there  were  no 
slaves  under  the  American  flag.  Bondsmen  there 
were, — but  Lincoln  changed  all  that.  And  it  had 
been  written  in  the  amended  Constitution.  "Yes," 
he  said,  "but  not  for  the  sailor.  All  other  men  are 
free.  But  when  the  amendments  were  framed,  they 
passed  us  by.  The  sailor  was  forgotten." 

I  asked  him  to  tell  me  about  it.  Sitting  on  the 
edge  of  the  chair,  his  body  thrust  forward,  a  great 
soul  speaking  through  his  face,  the  set  purpose  of 
his  life  shining  in  his  eyes,  he  told  me  the  story  of 
the  sailor's  wrongs.  He  said  little  of  himself,  ex 
cepting  as  I  drew  him  on  to  speak  of  the  long,  long 
struggle  of  which  he  was  the  beginning,  and  is  now 


372  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

finally  the  end.  He  spoke  with  a  strong  Scandina 
vian  accent,  but  with  remarkable  facility  of  expres 
sion,  force  and  discrimination. 

He  knew  the  maritime  law  of  every  country ;  the 
social  conditions,  the  wage  level,  the  economic  life 
of  every  sea-faring  nation.  He  was  master  of  his 
subject.  His  mind  worked  with  the  precision  of  a 
Corliss  engine.  He  was  logical,  rugged,  terse, 
quaint,  and  fervid  with  conviction. 

Born  in  Norway,  the  call  of  the  sea  came  to  him 
as  a  lad  of  sixteen.  He  stood  upon  the  cliffs  and 
looked  out  upon  the  infinite.  The  life  of  the  sailor, 
like  the  ocean,  must  be  wide  and  free.  He  felt  its 
mysterious  spell.  He  would  be  a  "free  seaman," 
with  all  the  world  an  open  door.  New  thoughts 
were  stirring  \vithin  him.  He  sailed  away,  thrilled 
with  the  idea  that  his  was  to  be  a  free  man's  work. 

His  dream  was  shattered  early  by  the  hard  real 
ities  of  life  before  the  mast.  First  in  the  boats  of 
Norway  and  later  on  the  decks  of  the  merchant 
marine  of  every  great  maritime  nation  he  served  as 
a  ;seaman,  and  everywhere  conditions  were  the 
same.  He  found  himself  a  common  chattel !  He 
was  owned  by  the  master  of  the  ship ! 

In  all  the  years  of  this  historic  struggle  for  hu 
man  liberty,  which  finally  culminated  with  Presi 
dent  Wilson's  signing  of  the  Seamen's  Law,  March 
4,  1915,  Andrew  Furuseth  was  the  one  man  who  had 
the  faith,  the  vision  and  the  courage  necessary  to 
sustain  the  contest.  He  launched  the  movement. 
He  kept  it  afloat.  Every  moment  of  the  twenty-one 
years  he  was  at  the  helm.  Through  legislative 
storms  and  calms,  over  the  sunken  reefs  of  privi* 


Miscellaneous  373 

lege,  across  every  treacherous  shoal  and  past  all 
dangers,  he  held  his  cause  true  to  its  course  and 
brought  it  safely  into  port.  Yet  in  all  those  long, 
disheartening  years  he  has  so  effaced  himself  and 
lived  his  cause,  that  the  public  has  had  little  oppor 
tunity  to  know  the  man.  When  history  forgets 
many  who  now  fill  the  public  eye,  with  all  who 
know  the  story  of  the  sea  he  will  be  a  great  out 
standing  figure,  from  whose  life  others  will  gather 
hope  and  courage  and  inspiration  to  fight  on  and  on 
to  better  living  conditions  and  wider  freedom. 

Furuseth  has  done  a  great  work.  He  has  not  ac 
quired  a  monopoly  of  light,  heat,  or  power.  He  has 
not  endowed  false  educational  foundations  with 
money  wrongfully  extorted  from  an  overpatient 
public.  But  he  has  won  freedom  for  the  American 
sailor,  and  made  our  country  an  asylum  and  a  ref 
uge  for  the  oppressed  seamen  of  the  world.  The 
gratitude  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  human  be 
ings  of  this  and  future  generations  will  accredit 
their  liberty  to  his  genius  and  devotion. 

After  the  bill  was  signed  by  the  president,  in  con 
versation  with  Furuseth  one  day,  I  touched  upon 
his  future.  "When  you  can  no  longer  work,  what 
provision  have  you  for  old  age?"  I  asked.  "How 
much  have  you  been  able  to  lay  up  against  failing 
power?"  His  keen  eye  mellowed,  and  a  placid  con 
templative  expression  smoothed  out  the  seams  of 
his  weather  beaten  face  as  he  said,  "When  my  work 
is  finished,  I  hope  to  be  finished.  I  have  no  provi 
sion  against  old  age ;  and  I  shall  borrow  no  fears 
from  time." 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  April,  1915. 


374  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Poverty  in  the  United  States 

Prof.  E.  A.  Ross,  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin, 
in  a  book  published  in  May,  1918,  has  drawn  for  us 
a  moderate  but  clear  and  brief  statement  of  indus 
trial  conditions  in  this  country,  which  it  would  be 
well  for  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  officials 
of  this  administration  generally  to  study.  Prof. 
Ross'  book  is  entitled  "Russia  in  Upheaval."  Prof. 
Ross  has  been  for  many  years  a  professor  of  soci 
ology  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  and  is  the 
author  of  a  number  of  standard  works  dealing  with 
sociology  and  with  history. 

Let  me  say  that  Prof.  King  just  before  his  death, 
which  occurred  a  few  years  ago,  published  a  work 
on  the  distribution  of  wealth.  Prof.  King  was  rec 
ognized  among  the  statisticians  and  students  of  so 
ciology  and  of  the  economists  in  this  country  as  a 
very  eminent  man  in  his  particular  field.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  faculty  of  the  Wisconsin  University 
when  he  died. 

Prof.  Ross  said — I  quote  from  this  work  begin 
ning  at  page  345 : 

"Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  United  States, 
with  its  qualified  political  democracy,  will  prove 
immune  to  anticapitalist  agitation.  The  fact  is 
our  society  is  one  of  the  most  vulnerable,  because 
we  have  clung  so  long  to  the  law  and  politics  of 
an  outworn  individualism  that  the  resulting  dis 
tribution  of  wealth  and  of  income  would  be  gro 
tesque  were  it  not  so  tragic.  According  to  the 
investigations  of  Prof.  King,  a  statistician  of  un 
questioned  skill  and  impartiality,  65  per  cent  of 
our  people  are  poor;  that  is,  they  have  little  or  no 


Miscellaneous  375 

property,  except  their  clothes  and  some  cheap 
furniture,  and  their  average  annual  income  is  less 
than  $200  per  capita." 

That  is — let  me  emphasize  that — 65  per  cent  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States  have  nothing  but 
their  clothing  and  some  cheap  furniture  and  their 
average  annual  income  is  less  than  $200  a  year  per 
capita. 

Thirty-three  per  cent  of  our  people  compose  the 
middle  class,  in  which  each  man  leaves  at  death 
from  one  to  forty  thousand  dollars  worth  of  prop 
erty.  The  remaining  two  per  cent  comprise  the  rich 
and  very  rich,  who  own  almost  one  and  one-half 
times  as  much  as  the  other  98  per  cent  together. 

MR.  KEXTYON.     Mr.  President— 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  Does  the  Sena 
tor  from  Wisconsin  yield  to  the  Senator  from  Iowa? 

MR.  LA  FOLLETTE.     I  do. 

MR.  KEXYON.  The  figures  the  Senator  quotes 
from  Prof.  King  are  so  startling  that  I  should  like 
to  ask  the  Senator  a  question.  Did  the  Senator  say 
that,  according  to  Prof.  King,  65  per  cent  of  our 
people  have  an  income  of  less  than  $200  per  year? 

MR.  LA  FOLLETTE.    Per  capita. 

MR.  KENYON.  That  is,  a  man  with  a  family  of 
four  would  figure  each  one  in  the  income? 

MR.  LA  FOLLETTE.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  President,  I  submitted  as  a  part  of  the  mi 
nority  report  in  1917  on  the  revenue  bill  fixing 
war  profits  taxes  these  very  figures  quoted  from 
Prof.  King,  and  I  discussed  them  on  this  floor.  I 
cited  them  over  and  over  again,  and  tried  to  make 
them  as  impressive  as  possible.  We  are  asleep ;  we 


376  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

treat  as  a  joke  the  poverty  of  65  per  cent  of  the  peo 
ple  of  this  country.  Senators  jibe  and  sneer  and 
scoff  and  grin  at  the  recital  of  these  figures  here 
tonight.  You  may,  by  pursuing  that  course  long 
enough,  invite  into  the  Senate  Chamber  sometime 
or  other  a  mob. 

Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  March  I,  1919. 

Enlightening  his  Constituency 

It  was  clear  to  me  that  the  only  way  to  beat  boss 
and  ring  rule  was  to  keep  the  people  thoroughly  in 
formed.  Machine  control  is  based  upon  misrepre 
sentation  and  ignorance.  Democracy  is  based  upon 
knowledge.  It  is  of  first  importance  that  the  people 
shall  know  about  their  government  and  the  work 
of  their  public  servants.  "Ye  shall  know  the  truth, 
and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free."  This  I  have  al 
ways  believed  vital  to  self  government. 

Immediately  following  my  election  to  congress  I 
worked  out  a  complete  plan  for  keeping  my  con 
stituents  informed  on  public  issues  and  the  record 
of  my  services  in  congress;  it  is  the  system  I  have 
used  in  constantly  widening  circles  ever  since. 

The  task  of  building  up  and  maintaining  an  in 
telligent  interest  in  public  affairs  in  my  district  and 
afterward  in  the  state,  was  no  easy  one.  But  it  was 
the  only  way  for  me,  and  I  am  still  convinced  that 
it  is  the  best  way.  Of  one  thing  I  am  more  and 
more  convinced  with  the  passage  of  the  years — 
and  that  is,  the  serious  interest  of  our  people  in 
government,  and  their  willingness  to  give  their 
thought  to  subjects  which  are  really  vital  and  upon 


Miscellaneous  377 

which  facts,  not  mere  opinions,  are  set  forth,  even 
though  the  presentation  may  be  forbidding. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

Where  Some  of  the  Salary  Goes 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  congressional 
speeches,  reprinted  from  the  Record  for  distribu 
tion,  must  be  paid  for  by  the  congressman  or  senator 
ordering  them  at  a  cost  equal  to  that  of  any  first- 
class  printing  establishment.  The  size  of  the  bills 
I  paid  the  government  printing  office  for  many  years 
was  one  of  the  reasons  why  I  found  myself  so  poor 
when  I  left  congress.  A  congressman  in  those  days 
received  only  five  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  no 
secretarial  or  clerk  hire  whatever  unless  he  chanced 
to  be  chairman  of  a  committee.  The  result  was  that 
the  bulk  of  the  actual  mechanical  work  of  keeping 
up  all  this  correspondence  and  pamphleteering  fell 
upon  Mrs.  La  Follette  and  myself.  *  *  * 

Autobiography,  1913. 

On  Answering  Misrepresentations 

I  paid  no  attention  to  its  (The  Milwaukee  Sen 
tinel)  misrepresentations  and  personal  attacks.  But 
finally,  about  1904,  I  began  holding  a  copy  of  it  up 
to  my  audiences,  telling  them  just  what  it  stood 
for  and  appealing  to  the  people  of  Wisconsin  to 
drive  it  out  of  their  homes ;  saying  that  the  people 
ought  to  support  only  those  papers  that  served  the 
public ;  that  the  papers  that  were  organs  of  corpora 
tions  should  depend  upon  the  corporations  for  their 
support.  And  that  is  what  the  people  of  the  coun 
try  ought  to  do  today.  They  ought  to  support  the 
newspapers  and  magazines  that  are  serving  their  in- 


378  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

terests.  There  must  always  be  muckrakers  as  long 
as  there  are  muckmakers,  and  the  public  owes  it  to 
itself  to  support  those  publications  that  stand  for 
the  public  interest.  It  does  not  make  any  differ 
ence  what  good  news  service  the  organs  of  the  cor 
porations  offer,  turn  them  out;  teach  them  that  they 
can't  prey  upon  the  public  and  at  the  same  time  ap 
peal  to  the  public  for  support. 

This  law  (anti-lobby)  rests  upon  the  principle 
that  legislation  is  public  business  and  that  the  pub 
lic  has  a  right  to  know  what  arguments  are  pre 
sented  to  members  of  the  legislature  to  induce  them 
to  enact  or  defeat  legislation,  so  that  any  citizen  or 
body  of  citizens  shall  have  opportunity,  if  they  de 
sire,  to  answer  such  arguments. 

Since  I  came  to  the  United  States  senate  I  have 
steadfastly  maintained  the  same  position.  Again 
and  again  I  have  protested  against  secret  hearing 
before  congressional  committees  upon  the  public 
business.  I  have  protested  against  the  business  of 
congress  being  taken  into  a  secret  party  caucus  and 
there  disposed  of  by  party  rule ;  I  have  asserted  and 
maintained  at  all  times  my  right  as  a  public  servant 
to  discuss  in  open  senate,  and.  every  where  publicly, 
all  legislative  proceedings,  whether  originating  in 
the  executive  sessions  of  committees  or  behind 
closed  doors  of  caucus  conferences. 

Autobiography,  1913. 

Vacant  Seats  in  the  Senate 

Mr.  President,  I  pause  in  my  remarks  to  say  this. 
I  cannot  be  wholly  indifferent  to  the  fact  that  Sen 
ators  by  their  absence  at  this  time  indicate  their 


Miscellaneous  379 

want  of  interest  in  what  I  may  have  to  say  upon 
this  subject.  The  public  is  interested.  Unless  this 
important  question  is  rightly  settled  seats  now  tem 
porarily  vacant  may  be  permanently  vacated  by 
those  who  have  the  right  to  occupy  them  at  this 
time. 

Speech  "Regulation  of  Railway  Rates"  Senator 

La  Follette's  First  Speech  in  the  U.  S. 

Senate,  April  19-21,  1906. 


APPENDIX 

PLATFORM  OF  1908 

Submitted  by  the  Wisconsin  delegation  at  the  Republi 
can  National  Convention  in  1908,  and  rejected  by  the  con 
vention. 

HE  Republican  party  has  made  progress 
toward  a  more  effective  control  of  the 
railroads  engaged  in  interstate  com 
merce,  but  it  recognizes  that  much  re 
mains  to  be  done  in  the  public  interest. 
We  favor  enlarging  the  powers  of  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission,  clothing  it  with  authority 
to  institute  proceedings  upon  its  own  motion,  to 
establish  classification,  and  whenever  a  proposed  in 
crease  in  the  rate  is  challenged  by  shipper  or  con 
sumer  to  determine  whether  such  increase  shall  be 
allowed. 

The  problems  submitted  to  the  commission  are  so 
vast  and  complex  and  the  demand  for  a  better  su 
pervision  of  interstate  commerce  in  the  public  in 
terests  so  urgent,  the  work  of  the  commission  al 
ready  so  burdensome,  that  it  is  manifestly  absurd 
to  expect  seven  men  to  discharge  the  duty  which 
the  Government  owes  to  the  people  in  exercising 
control  over  common  carriers  engaged  in  interstate 
commerce.  In  response  to  the  demand  for  better 
supervision  of  railway  services  and  railway  rates 
we  favor  enlarging  the  working  force  of  the  com 
mission,  dividing  the  country  into  districts  and  pro 
viding  for  commissions  for  each  district  and  for 


Platform  of  1908  381 

appeals   from   such   sub-commissions   to  the   Inter 
state  Commerce  Commission  at  Washington. 

The  existing  laws  provide  that  the  rates  shall  be 
reasonable  and  that  any  unreasonable  rates  shall  be 
unlawful,  but  they  wholly  fail  to  provide  any  means 
by  which  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  can 
ascertain  what  is  a  reasonable  rate.  To  this  ob 
vious  defect  may  be  charged  the  unwarranted  ad 
vance  made  since  the  enactment  of  the  law,  and  the 
increase  recently  announced  by  the  railroads  which 
will  impose  an  additional  burden  of  $100,000,000  a 
year  upon  the  traffic  affected. 

Public  interest  demands  that  this  defect  in  the 
law  shall  be  remedied  at  once.  To  determine  a  rea 
sonable  rate  it  is  desirable  that  the  commission 
should  know  the  value  of  the  physical  property  of 
the  railway  company,  the  cost  of  maintenance  and 
operation  of  the  railway,  and  the  income  derived 
from  the  business.  The  interstate  commerce  law 
provides  for  the  ascertaining  of  the  cost  of  main 
tenance  and  the  income  derived  from  the  business, 
but  it  fails  to  provide  any  means  by  which  the 
commission  can  ascertain  the  value  of  the  property 
of  the  railway  company.  The  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  has  repeatedly  urged  upon  Congress 
the  importance  of  legislation  to  ascertain  the  value 
of  the  property  and  making  the  necessary  provision 
tc  enable  the  commission  to  perform  the  work  in  the 
public  interest.  We,  therefore,  favor  the  authoriza 
tion  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  to  as 
certain  the  exact  physical  value  of  all  the  property 
of  every  railway  company  engaged  in  interstate 


382  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

commerce,  to  the  end  that  such  valuation  be  made 
the  basis  of  just  and  equal  railway  rates. 

The  Republican  party  proclaims  its  continued 
loyalty  to  the  true  principle  of  the  protective  tariff 
policy  as  established  by  Alexander  Hamilton  and 
advocated  by  Clay,  Elaine  and  McKinley.  Under 
this  true  principle  of  protection  such  duties  were 
imposed  on  imports  as  equaled  the  difference  be 
tween  the  cost  of  the  production  at  home  and 
abroad.  From  Hamilton  to  McKinley  every  great 
advocate  of  protection  contended  that  a  tariff  so 
levied  would  establish  and  maintain  American  in 
dustries,  and  that  free  competition  betwreen  pro 
ducers  would  prevent  monopoly  and  insure  reason 
able  prices  to  all  American  consumers.  Under  this 
system  so  long  as  competition  existed  all  classes 
shared  in  the  benefits  derived  from  the  protective 
policy.  But  a  great  change  has  come.  Through 
combinations  of  corporations  competition  between 
protected  interests  has  been  suppressed  and  the  pub 
lic  compelled  to  pay  prices  dictated  by  monopoly. 
This  condition  is  unjust,  oppressive  and  intolerable. 

It  calls  for  prompt  and  effective  remedy.  No  tar 
iff  and  policy  which  contribute  in  any  degree  to 
place  the  control  of  prices  and  markets  under  the 
domination  of  monopoly  can  be  maintained.  To 
correct  these  abuses  and  permit  a  protective  tariff 
^system  based  upon  this  principle,  we  pledge  the  Re 
publican  party  to  the  immediate  revision  of  the 
tariff  by  the  imposition  of  such  duties  only  as  will 
equal  the  difference  between  the  cost  of  production 
at  home  and  abroad,  and  whenever  the  control  of 
any  protected  product  by  monopoly  or  the  suppres- 


Platform  of  1908  383 

sion  of  competition  by  agreement  between  the  pro 
ducers  of  protected  articles  limits  production  and 
controls  prices  and  wages  the  collection  of  duties 
upon  the  similar  imported  article  shall  be  suspended 
and  abolished  and  such  articles  admitted  free  of 
duty,  except  where  the  cost  of  labor  in  the  domestic 
article  exceeds  that  in  the  imported  article,  in  which 
case  such  article  shall  be  subject  to  a  rate  of  duty 
equal  only  to  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor  in 
the  domestic  and  the  imported  article,  in  which  case 
such  article  shall  be  subject  to  a  rate  of  duty  equal 
only  to  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  labor  in  the 
domestic  and  the  imported  article. 

To  ultimately  place  our  tariff  schedules  upon  a 
just,  scientific  and  more  equitable  basis  there  must 
be  a  thorough  and  impartial  investigation  of  the 
ever-changing  conditions  affecting  labor,  and  the 
cost  of  production  at  home  and  abroad.  For  this 
purpose  we  favor  the  early  establishment  of  a  per 
manent  tariff  commission,  to  be  appointed  by  the 
President.  Such  commission  to  be  composed  of 
men  from  civil  life  who  represent  all  sections  of 
our  country  and  who  are  specially  equipped  by 
training  and  experience  for  this  important  work. 

For  twenty  years  in  its  national  platforms  the 
Republican  party  has  opposed  trusts  and  combina 
tions  whose  purpose  it  is  to  prevent  competition 
and  restrain  trade.  In  its  platform  of  1900  it  says: 
"We  recognize  the  necessity  and  propriety  of  the 
co-operation  of  capital  to  meet  new  business  condi 
tions,  and  especially  to  extend  our  rapidly  increas 
ing  foreign  trade,  but  we  condemn  all  conspiracies 
and  combinations  intended  to  restrict  business,  to 


384  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

create  monopolies,  to  limit  production  or  to  control 
prices,  and  we  favor  such  legislation  as  will  effec 
tively  restrain  and  prevent  all  such  abuses  and  pro 
mote  competition  and  secure  the  rights  of  produc 
ers,  laborers  and  all  who  are  engaged  in  industry 
and  commerce." 

We  declare  that  no  additional  legislation  has 
been  enacted,  pursuant  to  that  declaration.  It  is 
established  upon  the  highest  authority  that  trusts 
and  combinations  have  within  the  last  four  years 
made  the  greatest  growth  for  the  centralized  con 
trol  of  business  and  the  suppression  of  competition 
in  the  entire  history  of  consolidation.  The  increase 
in  trust  capitalization  and  consolidation  of  indus 
trials,  franchises  and  transportation  alone  aggre 
gates  more  than  55  per  cent.  This  enormous  growth 
in  unlawful  combinations  places  in  jeopardy  every 
independent  industry  in  the  land.  It  exercises  con 
trol  over  production  and  prices  in  manufactures, 
for  service  and  rates  in  transportation.  No  political 
party  loyal  to  the  public  interests  can  ignore  this 
monstrous  evil. 

The  administration  of  President  Roosevelt  has 
in  notable  instances  prosecuted  such  unlawful  com 
binations  under  the  antitrust  law  of  1890,  and  no 
act  of  his  Republican  administration  has  been  more 
highly  commended  by  the  public.  But  we  believe 
that  existing  conditions  demand  at  this  time  more 
control  than  in  1900,  and  the  enactment  of  such 
legislation  as  will  effectively  restrain  and  prevent 
all  such  abuses  and  promote  and  protect  competi 
tion. 


Platform  of  1908  385 

The  Republican  party,  represented  in  this  Na 
tional  Convention,  demands  the  most  rigid  enforce 
ment  of  the  existing  law  and  the  enactment  of  a 
statute  prohibiting  any  individual,  co-partnership, 
corporation  or  association  from  engaging  in  inter 
state  commerce  whenever  such  co-partnership,  in 
dividual,  corporation  or  association  is  a  party  to 
any  agreement,  understanding  or  contract  for  the 
suppression  of  competition,  the  control  of  prices 
and  markets  and  the  restraint  of  trade,  and  impos 
ing  imprisonment  as  a  penalty  for  the  violation  of 
its  provisions.  We  demand  that  Congress  shall  go 
to  the  full  extent  of  its  constitutional  authority  to 
give  force  and  effect  by  statutory  enactment  to  the 
declarations  herein  set  forth. 

We  strongly  protest  against  any  attempt,  how 
ever  disguised,  to  weaken  or  destroy  the  Sherman 
Anti-Trust  Law  as  applied  to  trusts  and  combina 
tions  organized  to  control  production  and  prices, 
and  wre  favor  strengthening  the  law  by  providing 
imprisonment  as  the  penalty  for  its  violation  and 
the  strict  enforcement  of  all  of  its  provisions.  The 
anti-trust  lawr  was  not  designed,  as  declared  by  its 
author  or  advocates  in  Congress  when  enacted,  to 
apply  to  labor  organizations,  and  we  favor  legisla 
tion  which  Congress  may  enact  within  the  Con 
stitution  to  exempt  trade  unions  from  the  statute. 

And  the  minority  of  said  committee  further  re 
spectfully  submits  and  recommends  the  adoption 
of  the  following  paragraph,  to  be  added  to  the  re 
port  of  the  majority  of  this  committee : 

Publicity  of  campaign  contributions  and  expendi 
tures.  Certain  expenses  are  inseparable  from  the 


386  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

conduct  of  political  campaigns,  and  these  expendi 
tures  may  be  made  by  voluntary  contributions  from 
citizens  devoted  to  the  cause  for  which  a  candidate 
cr  a  party  stands.  Experience  has  shown,  however, 
that  the  largest  contributions  are  not  made  to 
further  the  cause,  but  in  some  special  or  personal 
reason  corruptly  to  influence  the  nominations,  plat 
forms,  administration  and  legislation.  If  those  con 
tributions  were  known  they  would  be  promptly  con 
demned  by  the  public.  The  relation  of  them  to 
subsequent  favors  sought  in  return  would  be  rec 
ognized  and  understood,  and  their  purpose  thwarted. 
Therefore  we  propose  that  the  Republican  Congress 
and  President  shall  enact  and  enforce  a  law  to  re 
quire  those  charged  with  the  management  of  cam 
paigns  for  the  nomination  or  election  of  a  President 
of  the  United  States,  Senator  or  Representative  in 
Congress  to  publish  at  stated  times  during  the  cam 
paign  the  name  of  each  contributor  and  the  amount 
contributed  or  promised  by  him — and  the  amounts 
and  the  purpose  of  such  disbursement  and  the  name 
of  the  person  to  whom  paid. 

We  pledge  the  Republican  party  to  the  enactment 
of  a  law  to  regulate  the  rates  and  services  of  tele 
graph  companies  engaged  in  the  transmission  of 
messages  between  the  states. 

We  are  unalterably  opposed  to  ship  subsidies  and 
tc  granting  privileges  in  any  form  to  special  inter 
ests  at  the  public  expense.  (Applause.) 

We  pledge  the  Republican  party  to  the  enact 
ment  of  a  law  to  prohibit  the  issuance  of  injunctions 
in  cases  arising  out  of  labor  disputes,  and  such  in 
junctions  would  not  apply  when  any  labor  dispute 


Platform  of  1908  387 

exists,  and  providing  that  in  no  case  shall  injunctions 
be  issued  when  there  exists  a  remedy  by  the  ordi 
nary  process  of  law. 

And  which  act  shall  provide  that  in  the  procedure 
for  punishment  for  contempt  of  court,  the  party 
cited  for  contempt  shall  be  entitled  to  trial  by  jury, 
except  when  such  contempt  was  committed  in 
the  presence  of  the  court  or  so  near  thereto  as  to  in 
terfere  with  the  proper  administration  of  justice. 

We  pledge  the  Republican  party  to  the  enactment 
of  a  law  creating  a  Department  of  Labor  separate 
from  existing  departments,  with  a  secretary  at  its 
head,  having  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet,  and  for  the 
erection  of  a  Bureau  of  Mines  and  Mining  under 
the  proposed  Department  of  Labor,  and  the  ap 
propriation  of  sufficient  funds  to  thoroughly  inves 
tigate  the  cause  of  mine  disasters,  so  that  laws  and 
regulations  may  be  recommended  and  enacted  which 
will  prevent  the  terrible  maiming  and  loss  of  life  in 
mines. 

We  pledge  the  Republican  party  to  the  enactment 
of  an  amendment  to  the  existing  eight-hour  law  for 
government  employees  and  all  workers  whether 
employed  by  contractors  or  sub-contractors,  when 
they  are  doing  work  for  or  on  behalf  of  the  United 
States  Government. 

We  pledge  the  Republican  party  to  the  enact 
ment  of  a  law  by  Congress  as  far  as  the  federal  ju 
risdiction  extends  for  a  general  employer's  liability 
act  for  injury  to  body  or  loss  of  life  of  employees. 


PLATFORM    OF    1912 

Submitted  by  the  Wisconsin  delegation  at  the  Republi 
can  National  Convention  in  1912,  and  rejected  by  the 
convention. 

Banking  and  Currency 

ORE  dangerous  even  than  the  indus 
trial  trusts  is  that  subtle,  concentrated 
power  exercised  over  money  and  credit, 
by  what  is  ordinarily  called  the 
"Money  Trust."  It  can  make  and  un 
make  panics.  But  of  far  greater  significance  is  its 
constant,  all-pervading  influence  exerted  from  day 
to  day  over  the  commercial  life  of  the  nation  in 
times  of  prosperity  and  of  adversity  alike.  Through 
control  of  capital  it  dominates  practically  all  im 
portant  business.  Without  its  consent  few  large 
enterprises,  public  or  private,  can  be  carried  to  suc 
cess.  Against  its  opposition  the  strongest  struggle 
is  vain.  To  it,  great  corporations,  cities,  states,  and 
even  the  nation  must  pay  tribute  in  order  to  obtain 
needed  loans.  Yet  this  dominance  of  the  few  is 
not  due  to  their  own  wealth,  vast  as  that  wealth  is. 
In  other  days,  the  power  of  the  money  lender  arose 
from  the  vices  or  \veakness  of  the  borrower.  But 
the  despotic  powder  of  the  money  trust  rests  rather 
upon  the  virtues, — the  thrift  and  virility, — of  a  great 
people.  We  are  subjugated  by  means  of  our  own 
savings,  for  the  money  trust  controls  the  banks  and 
the  life  insurance  companies,  reservoirs  into  which 
the  savings  of  the  nation  naturally  drain.  The 
money  trust  controls  likewise  the  avenues  through 


Platform  of  1912  389 

\vhich  these  savings  are  invested  so  as  to  become 
remunerative.  Therefore  the  enterprise  and  initia 
tive  of  our  people,  qualities  which  ordinarily  eman 
cipate  men,  increase  our  dependence,  since  each 
new  demand  for  capital  enhances  the  power  of  the 
few  who  control  it. 

The  resources  of  our  national  banks  designed  for 
the  protection  of  depositors,  are  now  permitted,  un 
der  cunningly  devised  provisions  of  our  patch-work 
currency  system,  to  be  transferred  and  re-trans 
ferred,  until  finally  placed  in  speculative  banks  con 
trolled  by  the  money  trust,  and  used  to  promote  its 
own  selfish  interests  and  augment  its  power. 

Under  our  present  currency  system  the  people's 
bank  deposits  are  forwarded  to  the  reserve  city 
banks  to  help  finance  the  trusts,  destroy  independ 
ent  producers,  promote  speculative  markets,  and 
foist  inflated  securities  on  the  public. 

Panics  which  the  money  power  itself  has  created 
are  used  to  force  government  to  come  to  its  aid 
and  competitors  to  give  up  their  property.  The 
vice  of  the  .system  lies  in  the  privilege  of  using  the 
money  and  credit  of  the  people  for  speculation,  thus 
depriving  legitimate  business  of  support.  This  vice 
is  now  admitted  by  the  money  power  itself,  but  the 
legislation  proposed,  however  sound  in  certain  re 
spects,  carried  in  its  "jokers"  the  intent  to  deceive 
the  people.  Pretending  to  offer  support  to  com 
merce,  it  creates  preferences  for  speculation  that 
lead  to  inflation  and  rising  prices  instead  of  elasti 
city  and  stable  prices.  Realizing  that  the  people's 
only  means  of  effective  control  is  power  to  revoke 
the  charter,  they  create  a  vested  right  for  fifty  years 


3QO  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

with  a  semblance  of  power  of  revision  by  Congress 
once  in  ten  years.  On  the  pretext  that  this  is  merely 
a  business  question,  they  strive  to  prevent  the 
people  from  putting  their  candidates  on  record  re 
garding  it. 

We  are  opposed  to  the  so-called  Aldrich  Cur 
rency  plan.  We  pledge  our  candidate  that  under 
no  circumstances  shall  the  federal  government  come 
to  the  aid  of  high  finance,  but  shall  support  those 
banks  that  extend  a  genuine  preference  to  strictly 
commercial,  as  against  speculative,  loans  and  to 
the  millions  of  real  producers  who  depend  on  those 
banks.  We  favor  a  carefully  worked  out  and  scien 
tific  emergency  circulation  under  control  of  the 
government,  backed  by  proper  reserve,  issued  only 
against  commercial  paper  that  represents  actual 
transactions,  and  adopted  only  after  the  people  have 
thoroughly  discussed  and  intelligently  approved  of 
thoroughly  discussed  and  intelligently  approved  of  it. 

To  free  the  country  from  this  thralldom  all  the 
powers  of  the  nation  and  of  the  state  should  be  in 
voked.  Means  must  be  devised  for  diverting  from 
the  money  trust  the  millions  of  savings  which  flow 
freely  from  city  and  farm  to  its  banks  and  insur 
ance  companies.  The  people  should  be  enabled  to 
control  the  banks  in  which  their  own  money  is  de 
posited. 

Federal   Trade    Commission 

In  the  enforcement  and  administration  of  federal 
laws  designed  to  curb  and  control  the  powerful 
special  interests  of  the  country  there  is  much  that 
may  be  committed  to  a  Federal  Trade  Commission, 


Platform  of  1912  391 

thus  placing  in  the  hands  of  an  administrative  board 
responsible  to  Congress  many  of  the  functions  now 
exercised  by  the  courts,  promoting  promptness  in 
the  administration  of  law  and  avoiding  delays  and 
technicalities  incident  to  court  procedure. 

Among  the  matters  which  should  be  handled  by 
such  a  board  is  the  determination  of  the  differences 
in  the  cost  of  production  at  home  and  abroad  for 
the  purpose  of  protective  tariff  legislation ;  an  in 
vestigation  into  the  character  of  great  combinations 
of  capital  and  the  trusts  of  the  country ;  a  deter 
mination  of  the  facts  which  may  be  declared  by  law 
to  be  a  violation  of  the  anti-trust  laws ;  enforcing 
the  laws  which  may  be  passed  with  reference  to 
the  reasonable  use  of  patents,  and  to  co-operate 
with  the  proposed  Department  of  Labor  in  enforc 
ing  regulations  for  the  health,  safety  and  hours  of 
labor  of  the  employees  of  protected  manufacturers ; 
requiring  a  uniform  system  of  accounting  and  cost- 
keeping  for  monopolistic  protected  industries  and 
combinations,  and  such  other  powers  as  may  be 
conferred  from  time  to  time  by  other  laws  of  Con 
gress.  We  believe  that  all  of  these  functions,  some 
of  which  are  now  performed  ineffectively  by  sep 
arate  agencies  of  government  and  by  the  courts, 
may  be  brought  together  in  a  single  organization, 
able  to  cope  with  the  combined  power  of  special 
privilege.  Such  commission  should  be  composed 
of  men  peculiarly  qualified  for  the  discharge  of  such 
duties  and  should  be  drawn  from  the  various  walks 
of  life  and  supplied  with  an  adequate  staff  of  ex 
perts,  accountants  and  engineers,  to  enable  it  to 
properly  discharge  the  duties  conferred  upon  it.  In 


392  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

subsequent  planks  of  this  platform,  dealing  with 
the  subjects  of  tariff,  trusts  and  patents,  more  spe 
cific  suggestion  is  made  of  the  duties  which  appro 
priately  may  be  conferred  upon  such  commission. 
We  pledge  the  establishment  of  such  commission, 
the  members  to  be  appointed  by  the  President  and 
subject  to  recall  by  concurrent  resolution  of  Con 
gress. 

The  Tariff 

The  tariff  has  been  instrumental  in  building  up 
American  industry,  but  it  has  been  seized  upon  by 
powerful  interests  to  take  advantage  of  consumers 
and  wage-earners.  We  favor  a  continuation  of  the 
protective  policy  for  the  benefit  of  the  producing 
classes,  but  demand  that  the  tariff  schedules  be  re 
duced  to  the  ascertained  difference  in  the  labor  in 
this  country  and  abroad,  and  so  adjusted  as  to  as 
sure  its  benefit  to  labor  and  not  to  protect  ineffici 
ent  management  nor  place  a  premium  on  the  further 
exhaustion  of  our  limited  natural  resources.  The 
investigation  of  these  facts  and  the  revision  of 
schedules  should  be  made  by  the  proposed  Federal 
Trade  Commission,  subject  to  the  action  of  Con 
gress,  but  such  schedules  as  are  generally  recog 
nized  to  be  excessive  shall  be  immediately  reduced. 

Patents 

Inventions  should  be  fully  developed  and  utilized 
for  the  public  benefit  under  reasonable  regulation 
by  the  proposed  Federal  Trade  Commission.  We 
pledge  the  enactment  of  a  patent  law  which  will 
protect  the  inventor  as  well  as  the  public,  and  which 
cannot  be  used  against  the  public  welfare  in  the  in 
terest  of  injurious  monopolies. 


Platform  of  1912  393 

Trusts  and  Monopolies 

The  special  interests,  the  railroads,  the  harvester 
trust,  the  United  States  steel  trust,  and  all  indus 
trial  combinations  are  planning  to  secure  some  ac 
tion  by  the  government  which  will  legalize  their 
proceedings  and  sanction  their  fictitious  capitaliza 
tion.  Already  there  has  been  one  powerfully  or 
ganized  attempt  in  Congress  to  enact  legislation 
approving  all  railroad  combinations  heretofore  per 
fected  in  violation  of  law,  and  validate  all  the  wa 
tered  stocks  and  bonds  with  which  corporate  greed 
has  sought  to  burden  the  commerce  of  the  country. 
The  situation  is  critical.  It  may  be  expected  from 
the  attitude  of  the  Supreme  Court,  as  shown  in  the 
Standard  Oil  and  Tobacco  Trust  cases,  that  any 
act  on  the  part  of  the  executive  or  legislative  branch 
of  government  giving  countenance  to  these  unlaw 
ful  combinations  will  be  construed  as  an  approval 
ot  the  thousands  of  millions  of  watered  stocks  and 
bonds  issued,  and  will  fasten  upon  the  people  for 
all  time  the  speculative  capitalization  of  public  serv 
ice  and  industrial  combinations.  The  time  is  at 
hand  to  declare  for  a  statute  that  shall  make  it  ever 
lastingly  impossible  for  any  president,  or  any  con 
gress,  or  any  court,  to  legalize  spurious  capitaliza 
tion  as  a  basis  of  extortionate  prices,  and  we  pledge 
the  Republican  party  to  the  enactment  of  such  a  law. 
By  the  enactment  of  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Law,  in 
1890,  the  American  people  declared  their  belief  that 
monopoly  is  intolerable,  and  their  determination  that 
competition,  the  natural  law  in  trade,  should  be  main 
tained  in  business.  The  will  of  the  people  embodied  in 


394  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

this  law,  has  been  frustrated  because  the  administra 
tions  charged  with  the  responsibility  failed  to  enforce 
the  law.  But  the  wisdom  of  that  law  has  been  con 
firmed  by  the  bitter  experience  of  recent  years. 
Within  the  last  dozen  years  trusts  have  been  organ 
ized  in  nearly  every  branch  of  industry.  Competi 
tors  have  been  ruthlessly  crushed,  extortionate 
prices  have  been  exacted  from  consumers,  business 
development  has  been  arrested,  invention  stifled,  and 
the  door  of  opportunity  has  been  closed  except  to 
large  aggregations  of  capital.  In  the  few  cases 
where  consolidation  resulted  in  great  efficiency, 
greedy  monopoly  has  retained  all  its  fruits.  The 
public  has  not  received  any  of  the  resultant  econ 
omies  and  benefits  of  combination  which  have  been 
promised  so  profusely.  But  ordinarily,  the  com 
binations  have  demonstrated  merely  that  the  hand 
of  monopoly  is  deadening,  and  that  business  may 
as  easily  become  too  large  to  be  efficient,  as  remain 
too  small. 

In  order  to  restore  and  preserve  competition,  as 
the  people  have  willed,  new  and  adequate  legal  ma 
chinery  must  be  provided.  The  present  law  is  un 
certain  of  application,  since  the  Standard  Oil  and 
Tobacco  cases  have  decided  that  only  unreasonable 
restraints  of  trade  are  prohibited,  and  later  pro 
ceedings  in  those  cases  have  shown  that  the  present 
law  is  impotent  to  destroy  monopoly.  Legitimate 
business  halts,  because  the  law-abiding  merchant 
and  manufacturer  doubts  what  he  may  legally  do. 
Law  breaking  monopoly  flourishes,  because  this 
same  uncertainty  increases  the  difficulty  of  enforc 
ing  the  statute  and  making  it  secure  in  wrong-doing. 


Platform  of  1912  395 

Supplemental  legislation  should  be  enacted  to  re 
move  this  uncertainty  by  specifying  and  prohibit 
ing  methods,  practices  and  conditions  which  ex 
perience  has  shown  to  be  harmful.  Supplemental 
legislation  should  be  enacted  to  facilitate  the  en 
forcement  of  the  law,  by  imposing  upon  those  who 
combine  to  restrain  trade  (and  particularly  upon 
those  who  combine  to  control  more  than  thirty  per 
cent,  in  any  branch  of  business)  the  burden  of  prov 
ing  that  their  action  has  been  consistent  with  the 
public  welfare.  Supplemental  legislation  should 
also  be  enacted  by  wrhich  proceedings  for  the  disso 
lution  of  trusts  shall  become  effective  to  restore 
competition.  To  this  end  courts  should  be  empow 
ered  to  prevent  any  person  from  owning  shares  in 
more  than  one  of  the  companies  into  which  a  trust 
has  been  divided  by  decree. 

The  control  of  limited  sources  of  raw  material, 
like  coal,  iron,  .ore,  and  copper  should  be  broken  up 
and  these  resources  opened  to  all  manufacturers  on 
equal  terms.  And  to  afford  an  actual  remedy  for 
injuries  suffered  by  innocent  competitors  and  con 
sumers,  decrees  obtained  in  such  suits  instituted 
by  the  government  should  be  made  to  inure  to  their 
benefit,  and  they  should  be  permitted  to  seek  in 
such  suits,  damages  for  wrongs  done  and  protec 
tion  against  future  abuse  of  power  so  illegally  ac 
quired.  The  proposed  trade  commission  should 
have  power  to  condemn  all  contracts,  agreements, 
and  practices  found  to  be  discriminatory  and  op 
pressive,  and  to  compel  the  substitution  of  such  as 
are  found  to  be  reasonable.  It  should  enforce  pro 
hibition  of  criminal  practices  which  should  be  spe- 


396  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

cifically  defined  by  law.  We  denounce  that  inter 
pretation  of  the  anti-trust  law  which  uses  it  to  sup 
press  the  unions  and  co-operative  efforts  of  wage= 
earners  and  farmers  in  protecting  their  labor  against 
moneyed  monopolies  and  we  pledge  a  revision  of 
the  law  making  such  construction  impossible. 

Injunctions 

We  pledge  the  Republican  party  to  the  enactment 
of  a  law  to  prohibit  the  issuance  of  injunctions  in 
cases  arising  out  of  labor  disputes,  when  such  in 
junctions  would  not  apply  where  no  labor  disputes 
existed,  and  providing  that  in  no  case  shall  an  in 
junction  be  issued  when  there  exists  a  remedy  by 
the  ordinary  process  of  law,  and  which  act  shall 
provide  that  in  the  procedure  for  contempt  of  court 
the  party  cited  for  contempt  shall  be  entitled  to  a 
trial  by  jury,  except  when  such  contempt  was  com 
mitted  in  the  actual  presence  of  the  court  or  so  near 
thereto  as  to  interfere  with  the  proper  administra 
tion  of  justice. 

Department  of  Labor 

We  pledge  the  enactment  of  a  law  creating  a 
separate  Department  of  Labor  with  a  secretary  at 
its  head  having  a  seat  in  the  President's  cabinet. 
We  pledge  ourselves  to  employ  all  the  powers  of 
the  federal  government,  including  the  power  over 
interstate  commerce  and  internal  revenue  taxation, 
in  order  that  the  benefits  intended  for  American 
labor  from  tariff  protection  shall  actually  reach  the 
laborer.  To  this  end  we  favor  federal  legislation 
providing  for  workmen's  compensation  for  accident, 
protection  of  women  and  child  labor,  safety  and 


Platform  of  1912  397 

sanitation  in  work  places  and  reasonable  hours  of 
labor  according  to  standards  to  be  fixed  and  enforced 
by  the  Department  of  Labor. 

Health 

We  favor  the  strengthening  of  the  various  agen 
cies  of  the  government  relating  to  pure  foods,  quar 
antine  and  health,  and  their  union  into  a  single 
United  States  Health  Service  not  subordinated  to 
any  other  interest,  commercial  or  financial,  but 
devoted  to  co-operation  with  the  health  activities 
ol'  the  various  states  and  cities  of  the  nation,  and  to 
such  efforts  as  are  consistent  with  reasonable  per 
sonal  liberty,  looking  to  the  elimination  of  unneces 
sary  disease  and  to  the  lengthening  of  human  life. 

Conservation 

We  pledge  the  preservation  of  the  mines  and 
water  powers  in  this  country  to  the  whole  people 
and  particularly  the  beneficial  control  by  the  gov 
ernment  of  our  coal  supply  \vhether  in  public  or 
private  possession.  We  pledge  an  appropriation  for 
the  further  exploration  for  phosphate  beds,  to  be 
taken  over  and  operated  by  the  government.  We 
pledge  the  increase  of  the  forest  domain  and  the 
extension  of  scientific  forest  development.  We 
pledge  a  thorough  investigation  into  living  condi 
tions  and  especially  into  the  conditions  of  rural  life, 
and  legislation  to  encourage  rural  co-operation  and 
credit,  land  purchase  by  actual  settlers,  with  the 
aid  of  long-time  favorable  government  loans,  the 
increase  of  rural  education,  and  to  prevent  the 
growth  of  monopoly  and  monopoly  values  in  land, 


398  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

all  looking  to  the  encouragement  of  the  tiller  of  the 
soil  and  to  the  reduction  of  the  cost  of  living. 

Alaska 

Alaska  contains  untold  wealth  in  coal,  lumber, 
copper,  and  other  natural  resources,  for  the  upbuild 
ing  of  industry  and  commerce  and  for  the  conquest 
of  the  markets  of  the  Orient  and  South  America. 
The  government  still  has  it  in  its  power  to  save  this 
vast  storehouse  of  supplies  from  the  interests  which 
have  monopolized  the  natural  resources  of  the  na 
tion.  Before  the  monopoly  of  the  anthracite  coal  of 
Pennsylvania  in  the  days  of  free  competition,  that 
coal  sold  at  from  $2.50  to  $3.00  a  ton  at  the  sea 
board.  Independent  producers  were  destroyed  by 
discriminations  and  rebates  and  the  oppressive 
methods  exercised  by  monopoly  of  transportation. 
Today,  96  per  cent,  of  the  anthracite  coal  mines  are 
owned  and  controlled  by  great  railroads.  The  coal 
costs  at  the  mouth  of  the  mine,  $1.84  per  ton,  and 
sells  at  the  Atlantic  seaboard  at  $6.00  to  $7.00  per 
ton. 

To  preserve  Alaska  for  all  the  people,  to  develop 
its  untouched  resources,  we  should  adopt  the  plan 
so  successfully  carried  through  in  Panama,  where 
the  government  has  built  and  now  maintains  a  rail 
way  and  Atlantic  steamship  line.  We  should  util 
ize  the  Panama  Commission,  a  highly  trained,  effici 
ent  body  of  men,  which  has  mastered  almost  every 
conceivable  engineering  emergency,  to  build  gov 
ernment  owned  and  operated  railways,  terminals, 
docks,  harbors,  and  to  operate  coal  mines  to  the 
end  that  the  last  remaining  patrimony  of  the  nation 
shall  forever  be  free  from  the  control  of  monopoly. 


Platform  of  1912  399 

We  should  own  and  operate  a  government  line  of 
steamships,  running  from  Alaska  by  way  of  Pacific 
ports  through  the  Panama  Canal  to  New  York,  thus 
relieving  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  seaboard  from  the 
oppression  of  transcontinental  lines.  And  we  favor 
the  immediate  enactment  of  such  legislation  as  will 
preserve  this  remaining  heritage  of  the  nation,  and 
develop  it  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  people. 

Panama  Canal 

The  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal  was  de 
signed  to  give  the  public  the  benefit  of  water  com 
petition  as  a  protection  against  excessive  transcon 
tinental  railway  rates.  The  American  people  as 
sumed  the  enormous  burden  required  for  the  great 
est  of  all  engineering  projects  at  a  total  cost,  with 
purchase  of  treaty  rights,  of  $375,000,000.  Al 
ready  the  interests  are  organized  to  secure  the  ex 
clusive  benefits  to  flow  from  the  construction  of  the 
Panama  Canal.  In  order  to  preserve  their  present 
high  railway  rates,  they  seek  to  make  the  water  rate 
by  the  canal  expensive  by  imposing  a  heavy  tax 
upon  domestic  commerce  through  the  canal.  These 
interests  must  be  made  to  keep  their  powerful  hands 
off  this  canal  and  the  steamship  lines  as  well.  The 
people  have  paid  for  its  construction,  as  they  have 
paid  for  improving  the  rivers  and  harbors,  and 
should  resist  now  any  further  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  railroads  to  rob  the  public  of  all  advantages 
resulting  from  a  reduced  rate  by  water. 

We  favor  such  legislation  as  will  insure  the  do 
mestic  commerce  of  this  country,  when  carried  in 
American  ships,  passage  through  the  Panama  Canal 
free  of  alL  tolls. 


4oo  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Interstate    Commerce 

The  life  of  the  nation  is  close-woven  with  the 
means  of  transportation  upon  which  communities 
must  depend  in  trade  and  commerce.  The  railways, 
which  are  clearly  dehned  by  law  to  be  public  serv 
ants,  have  become  more  powerful  than  their  cre 
ators.  Two  thousand  independent  competing  com 
panies  have  merged  into  a  half  dozen  groups  con 
trolled  by  a  handful  of  men.  They  have  issued  bil 
lions  of  securities  that  represent  no  investment  by 
their  owners.  Thousands  of  millions  have  wrong 
fully  been  extorted  from  consumers  and  invested  in 
permanent  improvements  and  extensions,  and  there 
upon  capitalized  and  made  an  excuse  for  still  greater 
extortions.  The  gross  railway  earnings  of  the 
country  have  reached  the  enormous  total  of  more 
than  t\vo  billion  eight  hundred  million  dollars  an 
nually.  This  transportation  tax  is  mainly  levied 
upon  the  necessaries  of  life.  Railway  rates  and 
charges  are  not  adjusted  to  the  cost  of  the  service. 
They  are  fixed  by  what  the  traffic  wrill  stand.  The 
sacrifice  and  the  hardships  of  the  farmer  and  the 
worker,  because  of  this  unchecked  power  to  collect 
such  tribute  as  the  masters  of  transportation  dictate 
will  never  be  known.  No  effective  regulation  of 
railways  is  possible  until  we  know  the  cost  of  serv 
ice,  and  the  cost  of  service  depends  upon  the  value 
of  the  property  used  in  the  business,  the  cost  of 
maintaining  the  property,  and  the  cost  of  operation. 
We  favor  the  reasonable  valuation  of  the  physical 
properties  of  interstate  railroad,  telegraph,  tele 
phone  and  other  public  utility  companies,  justly  in 
ventoried  and  determined  upon  a  sound  economic 


Platform  of  1912  401 

basis,  distinguishing  actual  values  from  monopoly 
\alues,  derived  from  violations  of  law,  and  making 
such  discriminating  values,  so  ascertained,  the  base 
line  for  determining  rates.  With  such  a  valuation 
the  country  would  know  how  much  of  the  total 
value  of  railway  property  represented  by  the  eigh 
teen  billions  of  stocks  and  bonds  issued  against  that 
property  was  contributed,  by  those  who  own  the 
railroads,  and  how  much  by  the  people  themselves, 
in  excessive  rates.  The  Interstate  Commerce  Com 
mission  is  wholly  unable  to  deal  with  the  problem 
under  existing  law.  It  can  at  present  do  no  more  than 
check  some  of  the  most  flagrant  abuses.  We  should 
recognize  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking  to  con 
trol  and  regulate  interstate  commerce.  We  favor 
such  amendment  and  revision  of  existing  law  as 
shall  provide  for  a  nation  wide  supervision  of  rail 
way  transportation  and  services  by  the  division  of 
the  country  into  districts,  in  each  of  which  a  subsid 
iary  commission  should  be  established  to  regulate 
and  control  the  railways  within  its  jurisdiction,  re 
taining  the  present  interstate  commerce  commission 
to  which  appeals  should  lie  from  the  orders  of  the 
subsidiary  commissions.  Only  by  such  comprehen 
sive  control  can  the  shippers  and  consumers  of  the 
country  be  assured  adequate  protection. 

Joint  Control  of  Production  and  Transportation 

Common  ownership,  operation  or  control  of  mines 
or  manufactories  and  public  railroads,  is  inseparable 
from  discrimination  and  resulting  extortions.  We 
oppose  all  combinations  whereby,  through  joint 
ownership  or  control,  the  public-service  corpora- 


402  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

tions  engaged  in  transportation,  including  pipe  lines, 
operate  in  conjunction  with  coal,  iron  ore,  oil,  or 
other  private  agencies  of  production. 

Parcels  Post  and  Express 

We  pledge  the  extension  of  the  postal  service  to 
include  a  parcels  post,  offering,  against  the  service 
of  the  private  express  monopoly,  a  cheap  and  direct 
means  of  transportation  between  the  producer  and 
the  consumer,  upon  a  charge  based  upon  distance 
and  the  actual  cost  of  operation. 

Good  Roads 

Recognizing  the  demand  and  necessity  for  Good 
Roads,  we  favor  state  and  national  aid  for  their 
construction  and  maintenance,  under  a  plan  which 
will  insure  its  benefits  alike  to  all  communities  upon 
their  own  initiative. 

Ship  Subsidy 

We  are  unequivocally  opposed  to  a  ship  subsidy 
in  any  form  as  vicious  and  indefensible  in  principle. 
Once  entrenched,  it  would  become  another  corrupt 
ing  influence  in  our  politics. 

War  Expenditures 

We  are  opposed  to  further  extravagance  on  the 
advice  of  interested  persons  only  in  building  battle 
ships  and  political  navy  yards,  and  favor  the  es 
tablishment  of  an  unprejudiced  commission  to  in 
vestigate  and  report  what  is  required  in  the  way  of 
national  defense. 

"Dollar  Diplomacy" 

We  condemn  the  "dollar  diplomacy"  which  has 
reduced  our  state  department  from  its  high  plane  as 


Platform  of  1912  403 

a  kindly  intermediary  of  defenseless  nations  into  a 
trading  out-post  for  Wall  Street  interests,  aiming 
to  exploit  those  who  would  be  our  friends. 

Income  and  Inheritance  Taxes 

We  collect  the  revenues  to  maintain  our  national 
government  through  taxing  consumption.  These 
taxes  upon  the  consumer  are  levied  upon  articles  of 
universal  use.  They  bear  most  heavily  upon  the 
poor  and  those  of  moderate  means.  Other  coun 
tries  tax  incomes  and  inheritances  at  a  progressive 
rate.  The  burdens  of  our  people  should  be  equal 
ized  ;  wealth  should  bear  its  share. 

We  favor  the  adoption  of  the  pending  income  tax 
amendment  to  the  constitution  and  thereupon  the 
immediate  passage  of  a  graduated  income  tax  law, 
and  we  pledge  the  enactment  of  a  law  taxing  inherit 
ances  at  a  progressive  rate. 

Initiative,  Referendum  and  Recall 

Over  and  above  constitutions  and  statutes,  and 
greater  than  all,  is  the  supreme  sovereignty  of  the 
people.  Whenever  the  initiative,  referendum  and 
the  recall  have  been  adopted  by  state  governments, 
it  has  stimulated  the  interest  of  the  citizen  in  his 
government  and  awakened  a  deeper  sense  of  re 
sponsibility.  If  it  is  wise  to  entrust  the  people  \vith 
this  power  in  state  government,  no  one  can  chal 
lenge  the  extension  of  this  power  to  the  national 
government.  We  favor  such  amendments  to  the 
federal  constitution,  and  thereupon  the  enactment 
of  such  statutes  as  may  be  necessary  to  extend  the 
initiative,  the  referendum  and  the  recall  to  repre 
sentatives  in  Congress  and  United  States  senators. 


404  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

So  long'  as  judges  are  the  final  makers  of  statute 
and  constitutional  law,  government  by  the  people 
becomes  government  by  a  judicial  oligarchy.  The 
people  are  the  source  of  all  power,  and  we  favor  the 
extension  of  the  recall  to  the  judiciary  with  safe 
guards  as  to  lapse  of  time  between  the  petition  and 
the  vote. 

Amending  the  Federal  Constitution 

Under  a  democratic  form  of  government,  the 
right  to  amend  and  alter  their  Constitution  is  in 
herent  in  the  sovereignty  of  the  peop1e.  But  the 
methods  of  amendment  prescribed  in  the  Constitu 
tion,  framed  when  this  government  was  a  small 
community  with  a  total  population  of  only  four 
million,  render  it  almost  impossible  of  application 
by  a  nation  of  ninety  million  people,  divided  into 
forty-eight  states,  with  a  most  complex  social  and 
industrial  life.  For  more  than  fifty  years  an  over 
whelming  majority  of  all  the  voters  have  struggled 
i:i  vain  so  to  amend  the  Constitution  to  insure  the 
election  of  United  States  Senators  by  direct  vote  of 
the  people.  The  public  interest  demands  that  this 
should  be  remedied. 

We  favor  such  amendment  to  the  Constitution  as 
will  permit  a  change  to  be  made  therein  by  a  ma 
jority  of  the  votes  cast  upon  a  proposed  amendment 
in  a  majority  of  the  states,  provided  a  majority  of 
all  the  votes  cast  in  the  country  shall  be  in  favor  of 
its  adoption.  An  amendment  may  be  initiated  by  a 
majority  in  Congress,  or  by  ten  states  acting  either 
through  the  legislators  thereof  or  through  a  major 
ity  of  the  electors  voting  thereon  in  each  state. 


Platform  of  1912  405 

Presidential  Primaries 

In  the  conflict  with  privilege  now  on,  much  prog 
ress  has  already  been  made  through  the  direct 
primary.  We  favor  the  enactment  of  a  federal  stat  = 
ute  providing  for  the  nomination  of  all  candidates 
for  President,  Vice  President,  and  Representatives 
in  Congress,  by  direct  vote  of  the  people  at  a  pri 
mary  election  held  in  all  states  upon  the  same  day, 
the  question  of  closed  or  open  primaries  to  be  de 
termined  by  each  state  for  itself. 

The  lawr  should  provide  that,  alter  the  nomination 
of  candidates  for  president  and  vice  president  by  the 
primary,  national  platform  conventions  shall  be  held 
for  each  political  party  recognized  by  law,  the  ex 
penses  of  attendance  by  members  to  be  paid  from 
the  public  treasury. 

Corrupt  Practices 

We  pledge  legislation  providing  for  the  widest 
publicity  and  strictest  limitation  of  campaign  ex 
penditures  and  the  detailed  publication  of  all  cam 
paign  contributions  and  expenditures,  both  as  to 
sources  and  purposes,  at  frequent  intervals  before 
primaries  and  election  as  well  as  after. 

Direct  Election  of  Senators 

We  pledge  support  of  the  pending  amendment  to 
the  Constitution  for  the  election  of  Senators  of  the 
United  States  by  direct  vote. 

Equal  Suffrage 
We  favor  the  extension  of  the  suffrage  to  women. 


406  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Legislation  and  Publicity 

We  pledge  the  enactment  of  a  law  requiring  all 
congressional  committee  hearings  to  be  public  and 
providing  for  a  permanent  public  record  of  all  ap 
pearances  and  votes  at  committee  meetings  and  for 
the  strictest  regulation  of  the  acts  of  all  persons 
employed  for  pecuniary  consideration  to  oppose  or 
promote  legislation. 

Legislative  Reference  Department 

The  growth  of  statute  law,  resulting  from  the  in 
creasing  economic  problems,  urgently  requires  in 
creased  attention  to  the  facilities  for  the  enactment 
of  legislation,  in  the  most  effective  and  serviceable 
form. 

We  pledge  the  establishment  of  a  non-partisan 
federal  legislative  reference  and  drafting  bureau. 

Civil  Service 

We  pledge  the  extension  of  the  civil  service  law 
to  all  branches  of  the  federal  service  and  the  aboli 
tion  of  useless  sinecures,  and  pledge  the  strengthen 
ing  and  enforcement  of  the  law  prohibiting  the  use 
of  federal  employees  to  perpetuate  the  power  of  an 
existing  administration.  Justice  and  efficiency  re 
quire  an  extension  to  all  classes  of  civil  service 
employees  of  the  benefits  of  the  provisions  of  the 
compensation  act,  and  a  provision  by  law  for  a  di 
rect  petition  to  Congress  by  civil  service  employees 
for  redress  of  their  grievances. 


LA   FOLLETTE'S   PERSONAL  PLATFORM 
IN  1912 

Published  on  the  eve  of  the  presidential  primaries  in 
1912  in  La  Follette's  Magazine  under  the  title,  "The  Re 
publican  Party  Faces  a  Crisis." 

HERE  is  just  one  overmastering  issue 
in  this  campaign.  What  are  we  going 
to  do  with  the  railroads,  the  trusts  and 
the  money  power? 

The  trusts  and  the  money  power  are 
making  their  final  stand  to  perpetuate  their  power. 
The  supreme  court  is  with  them.  They  only  need 
a  president  and  a  congress  that  will  legalize  their 
capitalization ;  that,  under  the  guise  of  regulation 
by  government  will  fix  their  prices  and  wages  so  as 
to  earn  a  profit  on  these  illegal  values ;  that,  under 
the  guise  of  providing  elasticity  in  our  currency 
system,  will  perpetuate  their  control  of  the  people's 
deposits  and  savings. 

Let  the  people  not  be  misled.  Let  no  mistake  be 
made  at  this  time,  which,  under  the  pretense  of 
putting  control  in  the  hands  of  the  people  will  really 
take  away  from  them  the  chance  of  ever  getting 
control. 

I  am  opposed  to  anything  like  federal  incorpora 
tion,  federal  license,  the  Aldrich  currency  scheme 
or  any  other  scheme  that  looks  towards  clinching 
the  illegal  power  that  has  now  been  concentrated  in 
a  few  hands.  I  demand  a  physical  valuation  that 
will  gradually  squeeze  out  the  water.  I  demand  a 
clear  definition  of  monopoly  and  restraints  so  that 


408  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

business  that  is  not  a  monopoly  shall  know  where  it 
stands  under  the  Sherman  law. 

I  demand  protection  of  wage-earners  and  farmers 
in  their  right  to  organize  and  to  defend  themselves 
by  means  of  unions. 

All  other  issues  are  subordinate  to  this  great 
issue.  They  are  methods  and  means.  As  such,  I 
demand  the  initiative,  referendum  and  recall — na 
tional  as  well  as  state — direct  primaries,  income  and 
inheritance  taxes,  parcels  post  and  government  own 
ership  of  express  companies,  government  owner 
ship  and  operation  of  Alaskan  railroads,  coal  mines 
and  a  steamship  line,  free  use  of  the  Panama  canal 
to  American  ships,  a  national  policy  of  internal 
waterways,  a  tariff  based  on  the  difference  in  the 
labor  costs  of  production  and  conditioned  on  labor 
receiving  its  benefits. 

Industrial  and  commercial  tyranny  destroys  in 
dividual  freedom.  We  may  have  the  privilege  of 
the  ballot.  We  may  have  the  form  and  semblance 
of  democracy,  but  in  the  end  industrial  servitude 
means  political  servitude. 

We  are  building  up  colossal  fortunes,  granting 
unlimited  power  to  corporations  and  consolidating 
and  massing  together  business  interests  as  never 
before  in  the  history  of  the  world — but  the  people 
are  losing  control  of  their  own  government.  Its 
foundations  are  being  sapped  and  its  integrity  de 
stroyed. 

The  republican  party  is  facing  a  crisis  in  its  his 
tory.  Two  courses  are  open  before  it.  The  rank 
and  file  of  the  party,  organized  to  restore  human 


La  Follette's  Personal  Platform  in  1912      409 

rights  and  preserve  free   institutions,   will  tolerate 
no  further  temporizing  with  existing  conditions. 

The  republican  party  cannot  ignore  the  social  in 
justice,  the  industrial  and  commercial  oppression 
which  everywhere  prevails.  It  can  honestly  face 
these  conditions  and  with  firmness  and  patience  and 
wisdom  make  an  end  of  them. 

For  20  years  I  have  pursued  an  uncompromising 
course  whose  goal  was  liberty  and  equality,  an  even 
chance  for  every  man,  woman  and  child — the  right 
to  buy,  the  right  to  sell  our  labor  and  the  products 
of  our  labor  in  a  free,  open  American  market.  For 
20  years  I  have  fought  for  real  representative  gov 
ernment,  fought  to  make  the  will  of  the  people  the 
law  of  the  land.  I  do  not  now  propose  to  abandon 
that  course,  and  today,  as  well  as  at  the  Chicago 
convention  and  always,  I  shall  struggle  for  these 
practical  reforms  which,  as  I  see  it,  will  achieve  so 
cial  justice  and  human  welfare. 

La  Follette's  Magazine,  April,  1912. 


PLATFORM  OF  1916 

Submitted  by  the  Wisconsin  delegation  at  the  republi 
can  national  convention  in  1916,  and  rejected  by  the  con 
vention. 

Tariff 

E  favor  a  protective  tariff  the  schedule 
of  which  shall  be  based  upon  the  as 
certained  difference  in  the  labor  in  this 
country  and  abroad  and  which  shall  be 
so  adjusted  as  to  assure  its  benefit  to 
labor  and  yet  not  tax  the  consumer  to  cover  ineffi 
cient  management  nor  place  a  premium  on  the  ex 
haustion  of  our  national  resources.  The  investiga 
tion  of  these  facts  and  the  revision  of  these  schedules 
should  be  made  by  a  nonpartisan  tariff  commission, 
subject  to  the  action  of  Congress. 

Patents 

Inventions  should  be  fully  developed  and  util 
ized  for  the  public  benefit  under  reasonable  regula 
tion  by  the  Federal  Trade  Commission.  We  pledge 
the  enactment  of  a  patent  law  which  will  protect 
the  inventor  as  well  as  the  public,  and  which  can 
not  be  used  against  the  public  welfare  in  the  interest 
of  injurious  monopolies. 

Ship  Subsidies 

We  are  unequivocally  opposed  to  ship  subsidies. 
We  believe  the  American  merchant  marine  can  be 
builded  upon  a  stable  basis  by  equalizing  the  cost 
of  building  and  the  costs  of  operation.  We  com 
mend  the  enactment  of  the  so-called  Seamen's  Law 


Platform  of  1916  411 

which  gave  freedom  to  seamen  and  equalized  the 
labor  costs  of  ship  operation  between  vessels  of 
the  United  States  and  foreign  countries.  We  in 
sist  upon  the  proper  enforcement  of  that  act  and 
demand  legislation  to  equalize  the  cost  of  ship  con 
struction. 

Social  Welfare 

A  well  nurtured,  well  developed,  loyal  citizenship 
is  essential  to  National  defense.  Without  such  a 
body  of  citizens,  physical  resources  are  of  little 
value.  The  nation  best  commands  an  adequate  de 
fense  that  most  efficiently  safeguards  against  ex 
ploitation  and  most  adequately  provides  for  the  ma 
terial  and  physical  well-being  of  its  citizens.  We 
favor  laws  to  assure  the  greatest  possible  safety  to 
workmen  from  industrial  accidents  and  vocational 
diseases,  to  provide  compensation  for  occupational 
accidents  and  diseases,  to  facilitate  and  encourage 
safe  provisions  for  dependents  and  for  old  age,  to 
strictly  regulate  and  control  the  employment  of 
women  and  children,  to  secure  the  fullest  inquiry 
and  publicity  with  regard  to  living  conditions  and 
conditions  of  employment,  to  encourage  the  organi 
zation  of  workmen  and  farmers  to  co-operate  in  the 
distribution  of  products  and  the  elimination  of  un 
necessary  expense,  loss  and  waste  and  to  promote 
their  education,  efficiency  and  general  welfare. 

Health 

We  favor  the  strengthening  of  the  various 
agencies  of  the  government  relating  to  pure  foods, 
quarantine  and  health,  and  their  union  into  a  single 
United  States  Health  Service  not  subordinated  to 


412  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

any  interest,  commercial  or  financial,  but  devoted 
to  co-operation  with  the  health  activities  of  the  va 
rious  states  and  cities  of  the  nation,  and  to  such 
efforts  as  are  consistent  with  reasonable  personal 
liberty,  looking  to  the  elimination  of  unnecessary 
disease  and  the  lengthening  of  human  life. 

Government  Manufacture  of  Munitions 
We  favor  a  comprehensive  survey  by  the  govern 
ment  of  the  industries,  transportation  and  other  re 
sources  of  the  United  States  and  such  organization 
thereof  in  times  of  peace,  that  in  time  of  war  every 
resource  of  the  country  shall  be  available  immedi 
ately  for  the  needs  of  the  government.  National 
defense  should  involve  equal  sacrifice  and  there 
should  be  no  private  profit  from  war  or  preparation 
for  war.  The  private  manufacture  of  munitions  of 
war  furnishes  a  direct  incentive  to  war.  Govern 
ment  manufacture  of  munitions  by  eliminating  pri 
vate  profit,  does  away  with  the  desire  for  war.  We 
pledge  the  government  manufacture  of  all  munitions 
and  vessels  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  and  in  time  of 
war  the  requisition  and  operation  by  the  govern 
ment  of  privately  owned  plants  so  far  as  needed. 

Naval  Supplies 

We  pledge  ourselves  to  the  acquisition  and  opera 
tion  by  the  government  of  coal  mines  and  oil  wells 
upon  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Coasts  and  in  Alaska 
for  the  supply  of  the  Navy  and  other  governmental 
departments  with  fuel  and  oil. 

Taxation 

Great  fortunes  have  been  gained  through  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  munitions  of  war  to  belli- 


Platform  of  1916  413 

gerent  European  countries.  We  believe  that  those 
vxho  have  directly  profited  by  the  European  war 
should  contribute  a  portion  of  such  profits  to  pay 
the  increased  expenses  of  our  government  caused 
by  expansion  of  our  military  program.  We  there 
fore  favor  paying  for  such  increased  expenditures 
by  increasing  the  sur-tax  upon  incomes,  levying  a 
tax  upon  all  manufacturers  of  munitions  of  war, 
and  a  graduated  Federal  Inheritance  Tax  with  rea 
sonable  exemptions. 

Strict  Neutrality 

We  insist  that  this  country  shall  maintain  strict 
neutrality  toward  nations  engaged  in  war,  thus  pre 
serving  friendly  relations  with  all  belligerents  and 
keeping  open  the  door  of  opportunity  to  service  in 
promoting  just  terms  of  peace.  We  pledge  to  so 
amend  our  neutrality  laws  as  to  make  it  the  duty 
of  the  President,  by  Executive  order,  to  preserve  the 
perfect  balance  of  our  neutrality  even  at  the  sacri 
fice  of  profits  to  the  money  power  and  the  manufac 
turers  of  arms  and  ammunitions. 

Conference  of  Neutral  Nations  for  Peace 
WTe  favor  a  conference  of  neutral  nations  with  a 
view  to  a  permanent  organization  to  promote  peace, 
prevent  wars  and  aid  in  the  settlement  of  interna 
tional  questions  and  the  adjustment  of  differences 
between  nations  at  war. 

International  Peace  Tribunal 

To  compose  the  differences  of  nations  and  to  main 
tain  World  peace,  we  favor  the  creation  of  an  inter 
national  Tribunal  to  which  shall  be  referred  for 


414  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

final  settlement,  all  issues  between  nations,  and 
upon  the  establishment  of  such  a  Tribunal  we  favor 
action  by  our  government  to\vard  general  disarma 
ment  of  the  nations  of  the  World ;  and  that  an 
adequate  International  Army  and  Navy  be  main 
tained  under  the  command  of  such  Tribunal  to  en 
force  its  decrees. 

Referendum  On  War 

We  favor  a  law  providing  for  a  popular  expres 
sion  of  opinion  by  the  voters  for  or  against  war 
with  any  foreign  government  with  which  the  Presi 
dent  shall  have  severed  diplomatic  relations. 

Foreign  Relations 

We  denounce  the  un-American  and  undemocratic 
secret  diplomacy  which  continually  threatens  the 
honor,  peace  and  security  of  our  country,  and  we 
favor  full  and  immediate  publicity  in  all  our  rela 
tions  with  foreign  governments. 

Dollar  Diplomacy 

The  natural  resources  of  our  country  have  been 
largely  monopolized  by  privileged  interests.  These 
interests  have  formed  inon,ster  combinations  in 
every  important  industry,  controlling  production  and 
prices  and  creating  a  vast  surplus  wealth.  This 
excess  capital  which  might  otherwise  be  loaned  at 
reduced  interest  rates  to  the  people  from  whom  it 
has  been  wrongfully  exacted,  has  been  withdrawn 
from  the  country  by  the  masters  of  finance  and  used 
to  secure  concessions  in  oil,  coal,  timber  and  min 
eral  lands  in  Mexico,  Central  and  South  American 
countries,  and  loaned  in  China  and  elsewhere  at 


Platform  of  1916  415 

usurious  rates  and  extortionate  commissions,  thus 
enabling  these  interests  to  control  the  natural  re 
sources  of  the  weaker  nations  and  exploit  their 
helpless  peoples. 

In  support  of  this  system  in  recent  years  there 
has  been  an  attempt  to  establish  and  maintain  a 
foreign  policy  of  "Dollar  Diplomacy"  that  would 
make  our  government  the  guarantor  for  the  private 
investments  of  our  privileged  interests  in  foreign 
countries. 

Back  of  this  foreign  policy  lies  in  large  part  the 
demand  for  a  big  army  and  a  big  navy  to  enforce 
the  collection  of  the  private  claims  and  protect  the 
concessions  and  investments  of  these  interests. 

These  same  interests  own  the  munition  plants 
which  fatten  off  the  great  government  contracts  to 
supply  the  big  army  and  build  the  big  navy  main 
tained  by  taxing  our  people. 

We  denounce  this  mercenary  system  of  a  de 
graded  foreign  policy  which  has  at  times  reduced 
our  State  Department  from  its  high  service  as  a 
strong  and  kindly  intermediary  of  defenseless  gov 
ernments  into  a  trading  outpost  for  those  privileged 
interests  and  concession  seekers  engaged  in  exploit 
ing  weaker  nations. 

We  pledge  ourselves  against  "Dollar  Diplomacy" 
and  the  identification  of  the  government  with  the 
claims  of  concession  seekers,  financiers  and  privi 
leged  interests  operating  in  weaker  countries. 

Woman's  Suffrage 
We  favor  the  extension  of  suffrage  to  women. 


4i 6  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

Initiative,  Referendum  and  Recall 

Over  and  above  constitutions  and  statutes  and 
greater  than  all,  is  the  supreme  sovereignty  of  the 
people.  Whenever  the  initiative,  referendum  and 
the  recall  have  been  adopted  by  state  governments, 
it  has  stimulated  the  interest  of  the  citizen  in  his 
government  and  awakened  a  deeper  sense  of  respon 
sibility.  If  it  is  wise  to  entrust  the  people  with  this 
power  in  state  government,  no  one  can  challenge  the 
extension  of  this  power  to  the  national  government. 
We  favor  such  amendments  to  the  federal  constitu 
tion  and  thereupon  the  enactment  of  such  statutes 
as  may  be  necessary  to  extend  the  initiative,  the  ref 
erendum  and  the  recall  to  representatives  in  Con 
gress  and  United  States  Senators. 

Legislation  and  Publicity 

We  pledge  the  enactment  of  a  law  requiring  all 
congressional  committee  hearings  to  be  public  and 
providing  for  a  permanent  public  record  of  all  ap 
pearances  and  votes  at  committee  meetings  and  for 
the  strictest  regulation  of  the  acts  of  all  persons 
employed  for  pecuniary  consideration  to  oppose  or 
promote  legislation, 


PLATFORM  OF  1920 

The  following  platform  was  issued  by  the  La  Follette 
Progressive  Republican  candidates  for  seats  in  the  Re 
publican  National  Convention  in  1920.  The  primary  on 
April  2,  1920,  resulted  in  the  election  of  twenty-four  out 
of  a  possible  twenty-six  delegates.  The  platform  was 
submitted  at  the  Republican  national  convention  but  was 
rejected  by  the  convention. 

I.  We  favor  the  immediate  conclusion  of  peace 
and  resumption  of  trade  with  all  countries. 

II.  We  are  opposed  to  the  League  of  Nations  as 
a  standing  menace  to  peace,  and  we  denounce  the 
Treaty  as  a  violation   of  the  pledges   made  to  the 
world  and  a  letrayal  of  the  honor  of  this  nation. 
It   would   make   us   a  party   to  the   enslavement  of 
Egypt  and  India,  the  rape  of  China,  and  the  ruthless 
oppression  of  Ireland. 

III.  We  would  favor  a  League  for  Peace,  com 
posed  of  all  the  nations  of  the  world,  provided  they 
v\ere  mutually  pledged  by  binding  convenants,  with 
proper  guarantees,  to  abolish  compulsory   military 
service,  and  provided  further,  that  the  several  na 
tions  mutually  bind  themselves  to  a  speedy  disarm 
ament,  reducing  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  each 
nation  to  the  strict  requirements  of  a  purely  police 
and  patrol  service. 

IV.  We    demand   the   immediate   restoration   of 
free  speech,  free  press,  peaceable  assembly,  and  all 
civil  rights  and  liberties  guaranteed  by  the  consti 
tution.     We  favor  the  repeal  of  the  Espionage  and 
Sedition   Act,   and   denounce  the  attempt  to   write 
such  laws  into  the  permanent  statutes  of  the  country. 


4i 8  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

V.  We  oppose  all  legislation  conferring  upon  the 
Postmaster    General,    or    any    other    governmental 
agency,  the  power  to  deny  the  mailing  privilege  to 
any  person  without  judicial  hearing,  and  the  right 
of  appeal. 

VI.  We  oppose  compulsory  military  service  in 
time  of  peace.    We  denounce  the  use  of  our  soldiers 
in  countries  with  which  we  are  not  at  war,  and  we 
favor  the  speedy  reduction  of  world  armaments. 

VII.  We   oppose   the   exile  of  any   person   law 
fully  admitted  to  this  country,  except  for  crime  fixed 
by  law,  and  then  only  upon  trial  and  conviction  by 
jury. 

VIII.  We   demand  the  abolition   of  injunctions 
in  labor  disputes. 

IX.  We  favor  laws  permitting  labor  and  farm 
organizations,  for  the  purpose  of  collective  bargain 
ing,  in  industry,  trade  and  commerce. 

X.  We  favor  such  legislation  as  may  be  needful 
and  helpful   in   promoting  direct   co-operation   and 
eliminating  waste,  speculation  and  excessive  profits 
between  producer  and  consumer,  as  offering  some 
measure  of  relief  from  the  oppressive  and  intolerable 
economic  conditions  under  which   the  farmer,   the 
wage-earner,    and    people   generally    suffer    at   this 
time. 

XL  We  favor  repeal  of  the  Esch-Cummins  rail 
road  law,  by  which  the  people  are  forced  to  guaran 
tee  railroad  profit,  wrhile  such  railroads  are  privately 
owned,  and  declare  for  the  ultimate  public  owner 
ship  of  railroads,  and  the  gradual  acquisition  of 
stock  yard  terminals,  large  packing  plants,  and  all 


Platform  of  1920  419 

other  natural  resources,  the  private   ownership   of 
which  is  the  basis  of  private  monopoly. 

XII.  We   demand   economy   in    government,   to 
replace  the  extravagance  run  riot  under  the  present 
administration.     The  expenses  of  the  present  year 
of    peace,    it    has    been  estimated,    will    be  approxi 
mately  $11,000,000,000,  or  ten  times  the  annual  pre 
war  expense. 

XIII.  We    condemn    the    system    that    permits 
18,000  millionaires  to  be  produced  from  war-profits 
— one  millionaire  for  every  three  American  soldiers 
killed  in   France.     We  demand  that   taxes  be  laid 
upon  wealth  in  proportion  to  ability  to  pay,  in  such 
manner    as    will    prevent    such    tax    burdens    being 
shifted  to  the  backs  of  the  poor,  in  higher  prices  and 
increased  cost  of  living. 

XIV.  We  denounce  the  alarming  usurpation  of 
legislative  power,  by  the  federal  courts,  as  subver 
sive  of  democracy,  and  we  favor  such  amendments 
to  the  constitution,  and  thereupon,  the  enactment  of 
such  statutes  as  may  be  necessary,  to  provide  for 
the  election  of  all  federal  judges,  for  fixed  terms  not 
exceeding  ten  years,  by  direct  vote  of  the  people. 

XV.  We  favor  such  amendments  to  the  Consti 
tution,  and  thereupon  the  enactment  of  such  statutes 
as  may  be  necessary  to  extend  the  initiative  and  the 
referendum,   to  national   legislation,  and  the  recall 
to  Representatives  in  Congress  and  United  States 
Senators. 

XVI.  We  favor  paying  the  soldiers  of  the  late 
war  a  sufficient  sum  to  make  their  war  wages  equal 
to  at  least  civilian  pay,  and  this  as  a  matter  of  right, 


420  La  Follette's  Political  Philosophy 

and  not  as  charity,  or  bonus.  We  favor  other  laws 
liberally  recognizing  the  patriotic  devotion  of  our 
soldiers  in  all  our  wars. 

XVII.  We    favor    a    deep    waterway    from    the 
Great  Lakes  to  the  sea.    The  government  should,  in 
conjunction  with  Canada,  take  immediate  action  to 
give  the  Northwestern  states  an  outlet  to  the  ocean 
for  cargoes,  without  change  in  bulk,   thus  making 
the  primary   markets  on   the  great   lakes   equal    to 
those  of  New  York. 

XVIII.  We  favor  a  platform  for  the  Republican 
party,  embracing  these  principles,  and  a  candidate 
for  president  whose  public  record  is  a  guaranty  that 
he  is  in  full  accord  therewith. 


Index 


Index 


A   CADEMIC     freedom,     305. 

*"*  Address  before  periodi 
cal  publishers,  345. 

Agriculture  and  co-opera 
tion,  280-8. 

Alaska,  1912  platform  pledge, 
398;  saving  of  its  re 
sources,  335;  government 
ownership  of  railroads,  408. 

Aldrich,  Nelson  B.,  currency 
plan,  390,  407;  currency 
bill,  170-1. 

Allies,  honest  dealing  with, 
245. 

Alumni,  address  to  Wiscon 
sin,  295. 

Amending  national  banking 
law,  166. 

America,  making  of,   109. 

American    soldier.    275-9. 

Amnesty    demanded.    248. 

Anti-trust  laws,  failure  of, 
105. 

Armed   ship  bill,   207. 

Asia,  white  man's  injustice 
to,  261. 

Associated  Press  retracts  er 
ror,  350. 

Australian  ballot,  30,  37,  40, 
51,  55. 

BAKER,  Newton  D.,   248. 
Ballot,   at   bottom    of   re 
form,    27,    127;    see    Austra 
lian   ballot. 

Bank   law,    postal,    324. 

Banking  and  currency,  1912 
platform  pledge,  388; 
money  and,  166-172. 

Barton,   Albert  O.,    12. 

Bascom,  President  John,  300- 
302. 

Bethlehem    Steel   Co.,   194. 

Big  business  and  govern 
ment,  148,  154. 

Bosses,   political,    32,    376. 

Brewster,  Thomas  T.,  317. 

British  empire  and  league, 
262. 

Bryan,    W.    J.,    10. 


CANADIAN  reciprocity  pact, 
161. 

Carrier's   one   duty,   89. 

Catholic  Order  of  Foresters, 
address  to,  364. 

Caucus  reform,  33-4,  36-7, 
38-41,  49,  57. 

Cecil,    Lord    Robert,    232. 

Chicago,  tax  scandal  ex 
posed,  347;  Tribune,  mis 
quotes  La  Follette,  349. 

Children's   Bureau,    140. 

China,   262. 

Citizenship,  obligations  of, 
293. 

Civil  service,  1912  platform 
pledge,  406. 

Coal   lands,  Indian,   329. 

Coal   strike,    314. 

Coast    defense,    favored,    192. 

Collective  bargaining,  1920 
platform  pledge,  418. 

Commerce  court  opposed, 
115. 

Comparative  negligence  prin 
ciple  established,  140. 

Compromise,  La  Follette  on, 
150. 

Compulsory  military  service 
opposed,  1920  platform 
pledge,  418. 

Conference  system  in  Con 
gress  opposed,  19,  157. 

Conference  of  neutrals  for 
peace,  1916  platform  pledge, 
413. 

Congress,  committee  system 
criticized,  309;  right  to  de 
clare  war's  objects,  235; 
should  prescribe  foreign 
policies,  204. 

Congressional  Record,  cost 
of  reprints,  377. 

Conscription,  draft  and,  215- 
219. 

Conservation.  325-37:  1912 
platform  pledge,  397. 

Constitution,  amending  of, 
1912  platform  pledge,  404; 
treaty  and,  254. 


422 


Index 


Cooper    law,    28. 

Co-operation,  agriculture 
and,  280-8. 

Co-operation  in  marketing, 
1920  platform  pledge,  418. 

Corporations,  police  power 
bill  vetoed,  321. 

Corrupt  practices  act,  149, 
176;  1912  platform  pledge, 
405. 

County  officers,  direct  nomi 
nation  bill  vetoed,  41-7. 

Court  of  commerce,  La  Fol- 
lette  opposes,  115. 

Courts  and  labor  combina 
tions,  130. 

Crime  of  profits  guarantee, 
112. 

Cummins,    A.   B.,   103. 

Currency,  banking  and,  388; 
reform,  170. 

DEEP  waterway,  1920  plat 
form  pledge,  420. 

Democracy,   13,  20. 

Denial  of  mailing  rights 
opposed,  1920  platform 
pledge,  418. 

Department  of  Labor,  1912 
platform  pledge,  396. 

Deportation  policy,  1920  plat 
form  pledge,  418. 

De    Tocqueville,    15. 

De   Valera,   E.,   261. 

Direct  election  of  senators. 
1912  platform  pledge;  di 
rect  nominations,  see  Pri 
mary  elections. 

Discrimination,    evils    of,    90. 

Dog   tax    discrimination,    64. 

Dollar  diplomacy,  1912  plat 
form  pledge,  402;  1916 
pledge,  414. 

Dolliver,    Jonathan   P.,    139. 

Domain,  waste  of  public. 
332;  see  also  Conservation. 

Draft  and  conscription,  215- 
219. 

DuPont   Powder  Co.,   194. 


ECONOMIC   problems,    f 
324. 

Economy  in  government, 
1920  platform  pledge,  419. 

Education  and  public  serv 
ice..  289-313. 

Egypt,   justice    denied,    256. 

Eight-hour  law,  134;  for  fed 
eral  work,  1908  platform 
pledge,  387. 

Election  of  federal  judges, 
179:  1920  platform  pledge, 
419. 


Employers'  liability  bill,  139- 

140;    1908    platform    pledge, 

387. 
Equal    suffrage,    338-44;    1912 

platform    pledge,    405;    1916 

pledge,   415. 
Esch-Cummins    law,    MX.     100. 

114;    repeal,    1920    platform 

pledge,   418. 
Espionage    act,    237-8. 
Evans,   Henry    Clay,    169. 
Expenditures,        control        of 

campaign,      17;      for      war, 

1912    platform    pledge,    402. 

FARM  life  of  future,  280: 
farmer  nation's  hope, 
282;  farmers,  why  organiz 
ing,  287:  organizations  ex 
empt  from  monopoly  stat 
ute,  106. 

Federal  judges  and  injunc 
tions,  179-81. 

Federal  trade  commission, 
410;  1912  platform  pledge, 
390-92. 

Fern  Dell,  Wisconsin,  speech, 
118-9. 

Folk,   Joseph,   311. 

Foraker,  Joseph  B.,  150. 

Foreign  policies,  Congress 
should  prescribe,  204:  1916 
platform  pledge,  414. 

Frawley,   M.    S.,   298. 

Freedom  of  speech  and  press. 
231 -PO;  1920  platform 
pledge.  417;  academic.  30.". 

Fuller,    Hugh,    138. 

Furuseth,   Andrew,   145.    371. 

GALLINGER.  Jacob  H..  159. 
Good  roads,  1912  nlat- 
form  pledge,  402:  Good 
Roads  Association  of  Wis 
consin,  286. 

Gore,   Thomas  P.,   221. 

Government  control  vital,  86, 
94;  of  raw  materials,  1?3. 

Government  ownership.  72- 
101,  124;  1920  platform 
pledge,  418. 

Granger  legislation  in  Wis 
consin,  76,  82,  183. 

Great  Britain,  territorial 
gains  from  war,  255. 

HALL,  A.  R.,  28;  address  at 
funeral,   360. 
Health,  1912  platform  pledge. 

397;    1916    pledge,    411. 
His'h   school,   address   to   Eau 

Claire,    Wis.,    298. 
Holmes.    Fred   L.,    12. 
Holy    Alliance,    261. 


Index 


423 


Honesty   in    politics,    La   Fol- 

lette    on,    59. 
Howard    University,    address 

to  law  class,  362. 
Huber,   Henry   A.,   246. 

T  LLINOIS,  railway  laws,  82, 

1     85. 

Immediate  peace,  1920  plat 
form  pledge,  417. 

Income  and  inheritance  taxes, 
1912  platform  pledge,  403. 

India,    262. 

Indian   coal  lands,   329. 

Inheritance    tax,  federal,  413. 

Initiative,  referendum,  recall, 
173-178;  1912  platform 
pledge,  403;  1916  pledge, 
416;  1920  pledge,  419. 

Injunctions,  abolition,  1908 
platform  pledge,  386:  1912 
pledge,  396;  1920  pledge, 
418;  federal  judges  and, 
179-81. 

Insurance  (life)  legislation, 
319. 

Interlocking  of  directorates, 
172. 

International  relations,  270- 
274. 

Interstate  commerce  com 
mission,  86,  88,  96-7;  1908 
platform  pledge,  381;  1912 
pledge,  400. 

Iowa,    railway    laws,    82,    85. 

Ireland,    martyred,    274. 

JOINT  control  of  production 
0    and     transportation,     1912 

platform    pledge,    401. 
"Jokers,"    in    legislation,    159. 
Judiciary,     179;    judicial    oli 
garchy,      180;      election     of 
federal   judges,    179,    419, 

KANE,  Acting  Commission 
er,    171. 

Kenyon,   William   S.,    375. 
King,    Willard    I.,    375. 
King,    William    H.,    120. 
Kolchak,   Admiral,   272. 
Kosciuszko,    261. 
Kossuth,    261. 

LABOR  and  its  rights,  129- 
147. 

Labor  articles   in  treaty,   252. 
Labor    combinations,      courts 

and,    130. 

Labor  department,  1908  plat 
form     pledge,    387. 
La  Follette,   Robert   M., 

Acceptance    of    gubernato 
rial    nomination,    154-7. 
Address  at   St.  Louis   expo 
sition,    366. 


Address  at  funeral  of  A. 
R.  Hall,  360. 

Address  before  periodical 
publishers,  345. 

Aids  highway  legislation, 
285. 

Debate  with  Senator  King, 
120. 

Disregards  personal  abuse, 
367. 

Elected  U.   S.   Senator,    184. 

Foreign  culture,  views  on, 
363. 

Influence  of  John  Bascom, 
300-2. 

Interview  on  government 
ownership,  93. 

Magazine,    salutatory,    353. 

Misquoted   by    press,    349. 

Peace    resolution,   231-5. 

Personal  platform  in  1912, 
407. 

Pioneer  in  conservation 
movement,  329;  in  pro 
gressive  movement,  10- 
11. 

Platform  of  1908,  380;  of 
1912,  388;  1912  personal 
platform,  407;  of  1916, 
410;  of  1920,  417. 

Policy  when  misrepresent 
ed,  377. 

Replies  to  war  critics,  236. 

St.    Paul   speech,    349. 

Vetoes  county  officers'  pri 
mary  election  bill,  41-7. 

Vetoes  police  power  bill, 
321. 

Voting  record  on  war 
measures,  246-8. 

Water         power          control 

championed,    336. 
La   Follette,  Mrs.    Robert  M., 

"Marching    in     a     Suffrage 

Parade,"    342. 
League     of    Nations,     251-69; 

and     British     empire,     262; 

opposed,        1920        platform 

pledge,   417. 

League  for  peace,   1920   plat 
form    pledge,    417. 
Legislation,     private     control 

of,   168;  and  publicity,   1912 

platform    pledge,    406;    1916 

pledge,   416. 

Legislative  reference  depart 
ment,  1912  platform  pledge, 

406. 

Lewis   primary  bill,   29. 
Life      insurance      legislation, 

319. 
Lincoln,    Abraham,      155;      on 

subjugation       of       weaker 

peoples,    264-5. 


Index 


Literary  Digest,  misquotes 
La  Follette,  350. 

Lobby,   legislative,   148. 

Louisiana  Purchase  exposi 
tion,  address  at,  366. 

A/T    c    ADOO,    W.    G.,    99. 

1VJ-    McC'ormick,    Medill,    102. 

McCumber,    Porter    J.,    228. 

Magazine,  La  Follette's  sa 
lutatory,  353. 

Magazine,  mission  of,  353; 
surrender  of,  355. 

McGovern,  F.  E.,  vetoes  suf 
frage,  339. 

Machine,  political,  33,  43,  53, 
59,  376. 

Meaning  of  war,   200. 

Mexico  and  financial  imperi 
alism,  195. 

Miles,  Nelson  A.,  191. 

Militia,   place  of,   275. 

Militarism,    190-9. 

Military  service,  compulsory, 
opposed,  platform  pledge, 
418. 

Milwaukee,  traction  grab 
exposed,  346;  Sentinel,  377. 

Miners,    strike,    314. 

Mines,  Bureau  of,  1908  plat 
form  pledge,  387. 

Minnesota,  railways  laws, 
82,  85. 

Money  and  banking,  166-72; 
see  also  Banking. 

Monopoly  and  people,  112; 
and  radicalism,  126;  cause 
of  high  prices,  124,  165; 
strikes  and,  125;  and 
trusts,  104-28;  statute  ex 
empts  farm  organizations, 
106. 

Munitions,  government  man 
ufacture  of,  1916  platform 
pledge,  412. 

"MAVAL  appropriations,  192; 

•^  supplies,  1916  platform 
pledge,  412. 

Neutrals,    rights    of,    272. 

Neutral  nations,  La  Fol 
lette's  resolution  for  con 
ference,  200,  239;  appeal 
for,  202. 

Neutrality,  true  course  of, 
213,  272;  1916  platform 
pledge,  413. 

New^  Haven   railroad   speech, 

New  Jersey,  Men's  Equal 
Suffrage  League,  344. 

Newspaper,   the  modern,   345. 

New  York  Evening  Post,  edi 
torial  on  La  Follette,  351; 


Times,  misquotes  La  Fol 
lette,  350. 

Nominations,  direct,  see  Pri 
mary  elections. 

Non-Partisan  league,  117, 
287;  address  before  at  St. 
Paul,  349. 

OREGON,      People's      party 
fate,    93. 

p  ACKERS,    153. 

-1-  Panama  canal,  1912  plat 
form  pledge,  399. 

Parcel  post  and  express, 
1912  platform  pledge,  402. 

Parties,  political,  13-17,  21-5- 
loyalty  to,  311. 

Patents,  1912  platform 
pledge,  392;  1916  pledge, 

Patriotism,  and  party  loy 
alty,  311. 

Patrons   of   Husbandry,    183. 

Peace  resolution,  La  Fol 
lette's,  231-5. 

Peace  tribunal,  1916  plat 
form  pledge,  413. 

Penrose,    Boies,    370. 

People,  and  private  monop 
oly,  112;  retain  right  to 
control  government,  237: 
sovereign  power  of,  213. 

Philadelphia,  franchise -grab 
bing  exposed,  346. 

Philipp,    Emanuel    L.,    306. 

Placing  the  responsibility, 
153. 

Platform  of  1908,  380-7-  of 
1912,  388-406;  La  Folletto's 
personal  platform  in  1912 
407-9;  of  1916,  410-416-  of 
1920,  417-20.  ' 

Platform  pledges,  18  21-25 
45,  58,  380-420. 

Police  power,  veto  of  cor 
poration's,  321. 

Political  machine,  see  Ma 
chine. 

Postal  bank  law,  324;  sav 
ings  banks,  168. 

Potter    law,    77. 

Preparedness  should  be  for 
defense,  190. 

Presidential  primaries,  1912 
platform  pledge,  405. 

Press,  and  public,  345-59; 
how  controlled,  347;  how 
Russianized,  352;  subsi 
dized,  348. 

Price  control,  106;  prices, 
monopoly  cause  of  high, 
124,  165:  fixing  by  govern 
ment,  121. 


Index 


425 


Primary  elections,  19,  27,  29- 
31,  34,  37,  41-5,  48,  55-6, 
155,  175;  Lewis  bill,  29; 
primary  as  citizen's  right, 
36;  presidential,  1912  plat 
form  pledge,  405;  bill  ap 
plying  to  county  officers 
vetoed,  41-7. 

Profits,  guarantee  of,  112. 

Profiteering,  war  taxes  and, 
220-30;  profiteers  should 
pay  war  costs,  228. 

Progressive  movement,  182- 
9;  principles  of,  1920  plat 
form  pledge,  420. 

Progressive  Republican  plat 
forms,  380,  388,  407,  410, 
417. 

Property  rights,  179. 

Public    opinion,    356. 

Public  rights  in  water  pow 
ers,  325. 

Public    service,    289-313. 

Publicity,  spoils  corpora 
tion's  game,  80;  of  cam 
paign  contributions,  1908 
platform  pledge,  385. 

Pulitzer  case,   352. 

RADICALISM,  monopoly 
and.  126. 

Ptailroads,  eight-hour  law 
for,  134;  make  fortunes  out 
of  war,  226;  private  opera 
tion  a  failure,  112;  regu 
lation  of  and  government 
ownership,  72-101,  124,  418; 
Wisconsin  bill,  97;  Wiscon 
sin  commission,  19,  72,  74. 

Rate-making,  valuation  as 
basis,  95. 

Rates  of  telephone  compa 
nies,  1908  platform  pledge, 
386;  and  wages,  93. 

Rebates,    70. 

Recall,    173-8. 

Referendum,  173:  on  war, 
1916  platform  pledge,  414. 

Reformer,    the,    25-6. 

Repeal  of  espionage  act, 
1920  platform  pledge,  417. 

Representative  government. 
13-26,  44,  175. 

Republican  party,  future  of, 
312. 

Resolution  for  conference  of 
neutral  nations,  200. 

Restraint  of  trade  criminal, 
106. 

Roads.  Wisconsin  farmers' 
need,  285. 

Roe,   Gilbert  E.,    351. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  ac 
knowledges  La  Follette's 
progressivism,  10:  anti 


trust  prosecutions,  384; 
conservation  policy,  334. 

Ross,  Edward  A.,  on  Russia, 
374. 

Rural  economics  needs  at 
tention,  285. 

Russia,  recognition  of  re 
fused,  271;  in  upheaval, 
374. 

SALARIES  of  members  of 
Congress,  377. 

"Sanctified  Crime,"  editorial. 
179. 

School,  district,   289-90. 

Seamen's   act,    141-6. 

Second    choice    voting,    34-6. 

Senate,  democratizing  the, 
308;  vacant  seats  predict 
ed,  378. 

Shantung,   262. 

Shaw,    Dr.    Anna,    344. 

Sherman  anti-trust  law,  109, 
130,  153,  385,  393,  408. 

Ship  subsidy,  opposed,  324; 
1908  platform  pledge 
against,  386;  1912  pledge, 
402;  1916  pledge,  410. 

Siberia,    illegal   war   in,    271. 

Smith,  Adam,  Wealth  of  Na 
tions  quoted,  358. 

Smith   case,    352. 

Social  welfare,  1916  platform 
pledge,  411. 

Soldiers,  Americans  should 
back  up,  276-8;  compensa 
tion  for,  1920  platform 
pledge,  419. 

Standard  Oil,  monopoly,  356; 
trust  cases,  115,  393. 

Steel  trust,   121-2. 

St.  Louis,  boodle  aldermen 
exposed,  347. 

St.   Paul   speech,   349. 

Strikes  and  monopoly,   125. 

Suffrage,  equal.  338-44:  1916 
platform  pledge,  415. 

TARIFF,  160-5:  commis 
sion,  165;  farmer  and, 
163;  industries  over-pro 
tected,  162;  1908  platform 
pledge,  382:  1912  pledge, 
392;  1916  pledge,  410. 

Taxation,  19,  61-71,  155;  eva 
sion  of,  33;  ad  valorem 
system,  68,  78;  railway, 
63,  68-71;  of  war  profits, 
226;  1916  platform  pledge, 
412;  1920  pledge,  419:  Wis 
consin  commission,  67. 

'T'avlor   system,    131. 

Tobacco  "cases,    115,    393. 

Trade  commission,  federal, 
390-2,  410. 


426 


Index 


Trainmen,      •working       hours 

limited,    138-9. 
Treaty,       and        constitution, 

254;     facts    withheld,      233; 

labor  betrayed  in,  252;  and 

league    of    nations,    251-69; 

reservations      by     La    Fol- 

lette,    269;    significance    of, 

268;   terms   of,   266. 
Trusts,   288;   and  monopolies, 

104-28;         1908         platform 

pledge,     383;     1912     pledge, 

393. 

UNIONS'  organizations,  ex 
empt       from        monopoly 
statute,    106. 
University,    294-6;     academic 

freedom    of   state,    305. 
Utilities,    control    of    public, 
19,    94,    124;    1920    platform 
pledge,   418. 

VALUATION  as  basis  in 
rate-making,  95. 

Van  Hise,  Charles  R.,  Inau 
gural  address  for,  294. 

Versailles,  treaty  betrays 
Egypt,  256;  war-makers 
of,  251. 

Veto  of  police  power  bill  by 
La  Follette,  321;  of  suf 
frage  bill  by  McGovern, 
339. 

Vilas,   William  F.,   169. 

Voting,   second   choice,   34-6. 


WAGES  and  rates,  93. 
War,  200-14,  results  of 
European,  9;  meaning  of, 
200;  cruelties  of,  241;  ex 
penditures,  1912  platform 
pledge,  402 ;  people  opposed 
to  America's  entrance, 
209;  its  cost  to  nation,  217; 
in  retrospect,  257;  referen 
dum  on,  1916  platform 
pledge,  414;  taxes  and 
profiteering,  220-30;  with 
Germany,  211. 

Washington  Post,  misquotes 
La  Follette,  350. 

Waste  of  public  domain,  332; 
see  also  Conservation. 

Water  powers,  control  of, 
336;  public  rights  in,  325. 

Weaver,    Gen.    Erasmus,    191. 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  10-11,  141, 
145,  233,  243,  248,  256-7, 
271,  274,  318,  372. 

Wisconsin,  adopts  direct 
nominations,  34;  an  agri 
cultural  state,  137;  eight- 
hour  law,  137;  granger 
movement  in,  76,  183;  leg 
islature,  27-8,  pioneer  in 
agricultural  advancement, 
282;  progressive  laws,  183; 
progressive  legislation  ad 
mired  afar,  369;  university 
of,  305;  water  power  pol 
icy,  325;  women  to  vote, 
338. 

Woman's  suffrage,  338-44; 
1916  platform  pledge,  415. 


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